Determinism, The Soul, and The Self

First Video on this topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4lAOxzuLec&feature=channel_page
One last attempt to reason with determinism on the subject of free will.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• free
• will
• determinism
• rationalism
• descartes
• cause
• and
• effect
• atheism
• soul
• spirit
• mind
• act
• body

[mikecampochiaro]

I don't believe we have a "self". We are "becoming" or "not-yet-a-self". The existential interpretation I think is correct.

[LifeIsPietzsche]

Well the whole idea of ego is an illusion of consciousness but it is just as much an illusion as the will.

As Nietzsche said, Man is something to be overcome, a bridge to be crossed.

[mikecampochiaro]

Read Kierkegaard.

[LifeIsPietzsche]

Nietzsche > Kierkegaard.

[HelloBrainMind]

Uh... You're seperating your self from the external world. You're not getting the correct vision of determinism. What determinism boils down to is that everything you are going to do from this point on could be predicted, had all the information in the universe at some point in time been taken. I.e. had all the information of everyparticle at 2 seconds after the big bang been taken, I could predict everything you are going to say for the rest of your life.

[YouIdiot1991]

BOO YEAH!!!

MORE poor quality, partly regurgitated yet mainly confused philosophy that retains just enough blind ambiguity to seem 'profound.'

But at least it has been sold for its deserving price on youtube :D

Another disciple for Nietzsche. (But didn't he tell you guys to disperse and forget him in TSZ?)

For the record, I love reading Nietzsche, his work is inspiring. I just lack your assumed wisdom when it comes to placing him above other philosophers on whom I am sure you also lecture.

[shameoncanada]

Well I think in the interests of clarity you should not be using the same word (self) to describe both the physical self and the "illusion of self" that is an abstraction created by the physical self. I understand that we are both the body and its abstraction, but it is difficult to understand you when you say the self causes the self to act? You see what I mean?

[shameoncanada]

It seems to me that you are only describing the fact that we are our brain. This does not mean that that brain has the capacity or free will though. If the brain/body that we are is driven by causality and our conscious experience is an illusion of self, then while you can say that we are the behaviors of our brain/body you cannot conclude that we have free will. To have free will we must be able to choose our behaviors.

[LifeIsPietzsche]

Our brain is part of our "self" as is our body. So when the brain causes the body to act, we cause our "self" to act. The self is the illusion of ego brought about by consciousness. When we speak we use simplistic language, when the brain (part of the self) causes the body (also part of the self) to act voluntarily, we use the term "free will" to describe the process of "the self causing self action."

BTW Determinism assumes no soul, it assumes a naturalistic consciousness as the predicate.

[shameoncanada]

Free will requires that you could choose either of the two options being presented to you, but if you are predetermined by infinitely complex prior internal and external causality to choose one then it is only an illusion of choice.

The fact that it is you acting out the behavior and experiencing the illusion of volition while doing it, is not sufficient to describe it as free will.