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Do we have free will
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username4981956
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#1
I'm writing my EPQ presentation, and I have a slide on my conclusion. However, I can't reach one.
All of the evidence tells me that we don't (physical determinism, omniscience, nature and nurture, psychological determinism) but I just don't agree. We all FEEL free. I can't put that as my conclusion as I have absolutely no evidence to back it up.
What are your opinions, hopefully, it will give me some inspiration.
Any opinions welcome x
All of the evidence tells me that we don't (physical determinism, omniscience, nature and nurture, psychological determinism) but I just don't agree. We all FEEL free. I can't put that as my conclusion as I have absolutely no evidence to back it up.
What are your opinions, hopefully, it will give me some inspiration.
Any opinions welcome x
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ThomH97
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sputum
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Noodlzzz
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DoraemonZ
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#5
Had you discussed with your parents about whether or not you wish to be born in the world? People never have absolute freedom in the world. When you talk about freedom better define what aspect of freedom do you want to talk about
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DoraemonZ
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#6
On the other hand, free will does exist, you can't do something does not mean you are not allowed. You can do anything. What makes you think you are not free? You are just afraid of being punished for what you did. Punishments and consequences do not restrict your freedom of doing anything you want. Because they happen after what you did not during what you do.
(Original post by DoraemonZ)
Had you discussed with your parents about whether or not you wish to be born in the world? People never have absolute freedom in the world. When you talk about freedom better define what aspect of freedom do you want to talk about
Had you discussed with your parents about whether or not you wish to be born in the world? People never have absolute freedom in the world. When you talk about freedom better define what aspect of freedom do you want to talk about
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username4981956
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#7
(Original post by DoraemonZ)
On the other hand, free will does exist, you can't do something does not mean you are not allowed. You can do anything. What makes you think you are not free? You are just afraid of being punished for what you did. Punishments and consequences do not restrict your freedom of doing anything you want. Because they happen after what you did not during what you do.
On the other hand, free will does exist, you can't do something does not mean you are not allowed. You can do anything. What makes you think you are not free? You are just afraid of being punished for what you did. Punishments and consequences do not restrict your freedom of doing anything you want. Because they happen after what you did not during what you do.
The problem I'm having is coming up with a rebuttal to physical determinism
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username4981956
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#8
I've had a look, and it definitely seems like something I want to include, I'm just struggling to understand the science of it and what it actually shows (I'm a humanities student haha)
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JoelBOI
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#9
The question of if we have free will is contingent on what we actually mean by free will. Harry frankfurt has arguments for free will in his book The Reasons for Love. To summarise, he says that the generic definition of free will is impossible - that is to say, the capacity to act beyond the constraint of fate, fundamentally because we did not create ourselves and thus are creations of happenstance. Such a freedom, he says, would only be available to gods. However, he defines free will in a more existential sense. He has a concept of second order volition, whereas our desires and our action can be in line. If we eat chocolate, although we want to eat better food, our free will is being violated, although if we are doing something good which is in line with our second order volition, we are acting in accordance with our will.
Richard Taylor in his introduction to metaphysics book goes through arguments surrounding free will, e.g. determinism, fatalism, does randomness matter, etc. The conclusion I took from it is that it does not exist, although in the introduction he gives great insight in saying that we must not be obstinant in these sorts of views. We cannot come to conclusions, only deepen our understanding. He goes over many of the arguments above in this thread, though with greater clarity and formality.
You could also look into Frankfurt cases on Wikipedia for an argument for free will.
Eminent psychologist Victor Frankl has arguments for free will in his book Man in Search of Ultimate Meaning ( all good sources to cite in EPQ!)
Personally, I've argued that free will exists as a psychological phenomena. We percieve reality as a continual actualization of a realm of possibilities. The "possibility" may not metaphysically exist ( see general relativity and the belief that time itself is an illusion ) although due to our lack of information, consciousness manifests in this 'free will esque' fashion.
Richard Taylor in his introduction to metaphysics book goes through arguments surrounding free will, e.g. determinism, fatalism, does randomness matter, etc. The conclusion I took from it is that it does not exist, although in the introduction he gives great insight in saying that we must not be obstinant in these sorts of views. We cannot come to conclusions, only deepen our understanding. He goes over many of the arguments above in this thread, though with greater clarity and formality.
You could also look into Frankfurt cases on Wikipedia for an argument for free will.
Eminent psychologist Victor Frankl has arguments for free will in his book Man in Search of Ultimate Meaning ( all good sources to cite in EPQ!)
Personally, I've argued that free will exists as a psychological phenomena. We percieve reality as a continual actualization of a realm of possibilities. The "possibility" may not metaphysically exist ( see general relativity and the belief that time itself is an illusion ) although due to our lack of information, consciousness manifests in this 'free will esque' fashion.
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Em.-.
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#10
Fate is fate, what’s going to happen is inevitable. Even the actions and decisions we make are determined by underlying factors. Our human understanding of the universe is so incredibly limited. I suppose it depends on how you define free will, and how you define making choices.
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