The Free Will Muscle
When you think about it, exercising choice is exercising a kind of mental muscle. I don’t know if any actual calories are burned, but in effect, it’s the energy involved with saying, usually to oneself, “OK! That’s it! I’ve decided!”
Usually this is preceded by a period of prior mental exertion in which we weigh alternatives – although there is also the phenomenon of the spontaneous or impulsive choice.
So the essence of choice, deliberated or spontaneous, is the “OK! That’s it! I’ve decided!” phenomenon. We close one door and open another. Our mental status is “Go” – ready for action.
I Think I Just Strained My Free Will Muscle . . .
So the free will vs. determinism argument is finally about whether such mental exertions, deliberated or impulsive, are the necessary outcomes of our deliberations/impulses or whether each time we perform this type of exercise, it’s really the outcome of – free will?
How does our will get free of our prior deliberations or impulses? Or maybe the locus of freedom is further back in the process – we freely choose whether to be impulsive or deliberative, or maybe we freely choose the nature of our deliberations - ??
Usually this is preceded by a period of prior mental exertion in which we weigh alternatives – although there is also the phenomenon of the spontaneous or impulsive choice.
So the essence of choice, deliberated or spontaneous, is the “OK! That’s it! I’ve decided!” phenomenon. We close one door and open another. Our mental status is “Go” – ready for action.
I Think I Just Strained My Free Will Muscle . . .
So the free will vs. determinism argument is finally about whether such mental exertions, deliberated or impulsive, are the necessary outcomes of our deliberations/impulses or whether each time we perform this type of exercise, it’s really the outcome of – free will?
How does our will get free of our prior deliberations or impulses? Or maybe the locus of freedom is further back in the process – we freely choose whether to be impulsive or deliberative, or maybe we freely choose the nature of our deliberations - ??
Posted by Paul at 10:23 AM Permalink
9 Comments:
this concept is deep.It's the thought behind the thought behind the thought ...... kind of stuff
DESPERADO: So we’re free to choose only good things; and the alternative is to act on impulse. What about…
Say, premeditated murder.
I can do either X or Y, I’m aware of that fact, but I impulsively choose Y – how’s that not a choice?
PAULINE: I don’t see a necessary connection between the ideas of free will and God, but in my experience, you’re right – it seems that people who strongly espouse free will seem to feel that apart from it the idea of God is on shaky ground.
It would be interesting to hear from anyone who feels that way – what makes the idea of free will necessary or at least of considerable importance to belief in God?
“I think our minds reference our experience, we might in turn reference the experience of others and we go from there, making choices that suit us at the moment.”
Sounds like you’re saying that our minds make choices or decisions, but these decisions appear predetermined because at every moment the mind references its prior experiences as the basis for its decision?
I think that's probably the sense most of us have - that there are undeniable influences including but not limited to our past choices, as well as some degree of present choice.
Don't know if you "play" in this way but there is an award waiting for you at my blog. Come on over when you can and collect it. Hugs!
anyhow thanks for the good read!
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