--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander > mailander111@ wrote: > > > > Whether or not there is free will depends not on > > belief but on state of consciousness, > > I'd say what depends on state of consciousness > is not whether there is or is not free will, but > whether the existence or nonexistence of free > will is even a valid question. > > the question of whether there is or > is not free will is a *valid* one depends not on > belief but on state of conscioiusness. > > and any > > understanding of what free will might be that is > > formulated in waking state is necessarily a fiction. > > Total agreement on that point. >
The concept of free will is not so much a state of consciousness but a political/social question. The concept of free will in a metaphysical sense is unprovable. The question of determinism versus free will turns on circular logic. Of course if every action of ours was determined by the clockwork of the universe there is no way to know if thats true or not. Einstein was a great proponent of determinism. Although he was a strong believer in determinism, he also believed in the political importance of freedom of individual expression. Einstein's notion of free will may be the best starting point. We know our thought and actions are determined by a variety of forces outside our control (and often our consciousness). Our will is restricted by, genetics, the structure of language, bodily limitations, perceptions, political situations, social conventions, duties and so on. On the other hand we appear to make choices as best we can within these restrictions. We have limited means of expanding freedom of our own biology. The extent to which we can broaden the freedom of exercised will is determined by society. Hence, Sartres words, "Hell is other people". As for the polemic on atheism - I reject the notion of atheism altogether. This twisted expression is the fantasy of religious thinkers and dreamers. There is no such thing as atheism. However by making such a label delusional religious people can attach their own projections on certain philosophers and thinkers. We can not generalize about an individual's mental life based on what they don't believe. The universe of not believing is infinite. However, philosophy has a history and a duty to question beliefs. The ongoing dialectic concerning what we believe to be true is not only a valid path of inquiry but a necessary one. s.
