Sunday, April 8, 2012

Words

Smock.

When I was in first grade (kindergarten?), the teacher said we all had to have a SMOCK!  I thought it would be something really exotic that no one had ever had before.

I think I ended up with one of my father's worn out short-sleeve shirts.

Not so exotic after all, my friends.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Free will 3

Do some people have more free will than others?
Do we always use our free will or do we sometimes turn it off?  How do we decide when to use it?
Are we born with free will or does it come about gradually?  When does it kick in?
How does free will work?  Where does it come from?

Monday, March 26, 2012

Free Will 2

If you did NOT have free will, how would your behavior change?
If I did not have free will, how would you know??

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Determinism

I think the problem most people have with determinism is the fear that their life is predetermined or predictable. 

Predetermination implies a predeterminer, frequently referred to as GOD,  but even the people who believe in GOD, think they have free will.  If there is no predeterminer, then there is no predetermination OR predestination.

Predicting which way a particular human being will develop is, pragmatically, impossible.  The number of variables which come in to play are literally astronomical.  Personally, I'm intensely interested in astronomy, so to predict my future behavior, you would need to know the current condition of ALL astronomical phenomenon and how they will develop over the course of my life.  Good luck with that.

You may believe in free will but, given everything you've experienced, what choice do you have?

Sunday, January 22, 2012