awareness, deliberation, and free will

human awareness - in a vacuum?

Category:

Education

Tags:

• free
• will
• dennett
• determinism
• mind
• body
• dualism

[ElasticGiraffe]

I think you are relying on a heterodox, teleological understanding of evolution. If I'm not mistaken, according to orthodox Darwinism, mutations do not happen for the "purpose" of fulfilling a need or providing a function. Mutations occur accidentally, and all those which negatively affect survival or reproduction in that particular ecosystem will be weeded out of the gene pool through natural section. So there is no biological need for consciousness, just as there is none for an appendix.

[jericomovie]

@ElasticGiraffe

im not supposing purpose. i am supposing there is no means for the phenomenon of awareness to be reinforced through evolution, if it cannot have bearing on the elicitation of behavior. unlike the appendix, which has conceivable ways of interacting with the body (gas regulation), the awareness does not.

[migkillertwo]

I'll play devil's advocate. Certain recent experiments in neuroscience are able to predict a person's decision before he consciously makes it. So before the person knows in his own conscious awareness what he will do, the brain can tell us what he will do.

[jericomovie]

@migkillertwo

I've read that study. have you?

[dazdope]

@Dreamsofyuri my hand is wherever i decide it is. i got the point about the influence of societies views on our "free will". my point is free will is an illusion. it exists because we decide it does. that doesnt mean we have to submit to societies views. on the contrary. the only way to be free is not to fight but to give up. all that matters is what you decide matters. on an existential level, nothing matters. on our level of existence living in joy matters. and thats up to the individual.

[Dreamsofyuri]

@NotCloseMinded emotion is important, but I believe that the wrong approach to defining emotion has been taken, by merely quoting the physical. Life is as simple as 1 and 0. Binary code rules over every aspect of our lives. If we could realize it, by taking away unnecessary information, we would have our true next stage of evolution.

[Dreamsofyuri]

@dazdope That is not logical, that is a normal precipitated biological response. Realize now that society and media, has shaped many of your views and told you all the things you can and cannot do. If anything, our minds are clustered with useless garbage as non-existent as your hand. How do you know your hand is actually there. The taking away of clutter is what we actually need, so that we can see how simple life truly is, and abolish all materialistic things by realizing, they are not there.

[NotCloseMinded]

should've read some more comments lol, damn that pod, i make a complete fool out of myself srry for that.

[NotCloseMinded]

Man i'm high hahaha

[NotCloseMinded]

Or am i just saying the things you've been talking about but then in a different way ? hmmm

[NotCloseMinded]

Something funny on the side: If you interpreted in a certain way, one might say that according to the evolution THEORY (yes still a theory) awareness has no real purpose for surviving and thus should have been '' weeded out of the gene pool through natural selection or the people who possesed awareness at one point of time by some weird mutations '' . But why hasn't it ? Is that maybe something that will happen in the future ? (most unlikely).

[NotCloseMinded]

It is a facinating topic/subject. But plz tell me, can i make out of your sentences that ''evolution must be false/wrong since there are some aspects of our being that won't fit the picture ?'' or is that far-fetched ? I have to say though, i like to look/think at things philosofical. Thought would be nice to say considering my question. Not that you think im some kind of pro evolution or pro creationism nut. Although i do believe in a creator ( but in a philosophic way).

[dazdope]

Logically (functionally) existence is simple. Eat. Move your bowels. Sleep. Everything else you choose to do is just that, choice. You can argue that choice is freedom. Or you can argue that there is no choice, only reaction. If time is pre-determined, does freedom actually exist? Or is it merely human arrogance to assume you have control?

[citricsystemz]

@trick0171 :p