tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3133078502277941061.post5799515862138501040..comments2023-07-18T08:00:22.009-05:00Comments on Steinblog: Determinism and Making ChoicesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3133078502277941061.post-8451558845262403532013-04-11T11:53:59.848-05:002013-04-11T11:53:59.848-05:00Erik, I think that most people who think about thi...Erik, I think that most people who think about this issue of free will feel very lost and confused, myself included :)<br /><br />Do we want to say that if we do something for no reason, that we have free will? Maybe. Do we want to say that all free actions are without a reason? That seems ridiculous and implausible. For us to have notions of moral accountability and responsibility tied to our free will, it seems we need to have reasons or motives for what we do rather than just spontaneously bursting out in erratic behavior. So maybe our free will is compatible with determinism, as we are rational beings who do things for reasons. <br /><br />You bring up an interesting case with the squares in asking whether there's any discerning factor between the squares, and you seem to question whether there is. A medieval philosopher named Buridan said that if there were a donkey placed at an equal distance between two identical stacks of hay, both of which the donkey wants, the donkey will be unable to make a decision between them and starve. (It's weird, I know- but I didn't come up with it :) Buridan thought that our free will came from being able to "discern between indiscernables" - that we can come up with a reason for picking one of the hundred squares even if there is no reason.<br /><br />However, I think there always is a reason. Think about going to a grocery store and picking out one of the many identical jars of Nutella on the shelf. It seems that there's some reason you pick one- maybe the light hit in a more appealing manner, or it's simply closer to reach, or it's the first one your eye fell on. I agree that all of these reasons are very slight and easily overridden by other facts; if you thought that the Nutella was expired, you'd probably instinctively pick another one. However, even though the motives are easily defeasible, I think they're still motivating reasons. So, maybe the reasons you give for picking one of the squares are like this- they exist and give a reason for you to pick one square over another, but they're not very strong. <br /><br />What do you think?Nathan Tnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3133078502277941061.post-53796344396295934342013-04-11T11:53:12.911-05:002013-04-11T11:53:12.911-05:00Erik, I think that most people who think about thi...Erik, I think that most people who think about this issue of free will feel very lost and confused, myself included :)<br /><br />Do we want to say that if we do something for no reason, that we have free will? Maybe. Do we want to say that all free actions are without a reason? That seems ridiculous and implausible. For us to have notions of moral accountability and responsibility tied to our free will, it seems we need to have reasons or motives for what we do rather than just spontaneously bursting out in erratic behavior. So maybe our free will is compatible with determinism, as we are rational beings who do things for reasons. <br /><br />You bring up an interesting case with the squares in asking whether there's any discerning factor between the squares, and you seem to question whether there is. A medieval philosopher named Buridan said that if there were a donkey placed at an equal distance between two identical stacks of hay, both of which the donkey wants, the donkey will be unable to make a decision between them and starve. (It's weird, I know- but I didn't come up with it :) Buridan thought that our free will came from being able to "discern between indiscernables" - that we can come up with a reason for picking one of the hundred squares even if there is no reason.<br /><br />However, I think there always is a reason. Think about going to a grocery store and picking out one of the many identical jars of Nutella on the shelf. It seems that there's some reason you pick one- maybe the light hit in a more appealing manner, or it's simply closer to reach, or it's the first one your eye fell on. I agree that all of these reasons are very slight and easily overridden by other facts; if you thought that the Nutella was expired, you'd probably instinctively pick another one. However, even though the motives are easily defeasible, I think they're still motivating reasons. So, maybe the reasons you give for picking one of the squares are like this- they exist and give a reason for you to pick one square over another, but they're not very strong. <br /><br />What do you think?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13429614683480991410noreply@blogger.com