Current Events > ce, help a brother out of existential crisis. do we have free will?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have pondered this for so long, and starting to find out that i think i believe in a thing called determinism. Basically one thing because other things caused it, that includes physical phenomenon like tsunami or earthquakes to human actions and thoughts. So yeah, something caused me to pick noodle instead of bread for breakfast this morning. It is because i havent eaten noodle for a while, which is caused by other thing and so on.

I am questioning, whether in that moment of picking noodle and bread is it possible for another decision to come to reality?

Lets start with a simple thought experiment. Say we let a guy playing a videogame with choices or cyoa book. We record all the decision he made and with some magical device we erased his memory of that day, very single trace of it.

Then after that we recreate the day he went to test at the first time, we gave then the same meal, same room, in controlled temperature basically same everything.

After that we ask then to play the same game again. Will he make the same decision as before? Basically repeating the same process all over again if you could recreate the same experience he felt that day from waking up to doing the test?

I mean, assuming all the variables in re recreating all the condition are same, his decisions will be the same regardless of how many times you do it.

If that dont satisfy you, lets take things a bit further. Say you have a magic lamp that grant any wish, and you wish to reset the universe from big bang or whatever you believe when existence happen and you can watch, but not interfere.

Will The new universe when you are finished watching be the same one when you ask the genie to reset every thing?

Can a slight alterance even happen? If it cant, we dont really have a choice.

We do have the illusion if choice because our power to imagine "what would happen if we choose that over this, etc"

In other words, we think we got a choice between picking noodle or bread for breakfast because you can imagine a scenario or alternate world where you pick bread exist, but a chance of it physically happening is zero.

That unless you can transfer your mind into the past, and consciously picking the other choice, like how i just reload my save file in videogame when the choices i picked is not satisfying.
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No such thing as free will. Every living creature only acts according to their programming

I'm seeing less of lack of free will and more choices that are determined by our personalities and moods.
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TheMarthKoopa posted...

No such thing as free will. Every living creature only acts according to their programming

Kinda like that, but it extends to all happenings in the world, from a dying star 100million years ago to why i decided to eat noodle this morning.

Everything is a web where each string exist based on the foundation from the other strings.

We think other possibilities exist solely because we have this magical thing called imagination
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Leanaunfurled posted...

I'm seeing less of lack of free will and more choices that are determined by our personalities and moods.

Yes, but our personAlities and mood at that time are caused by some things, which is caused by other things and so on.

There is literally no other possibilities where you feel other thing that time. You can rewind time till you die, if you and no one else have memories of the result, everyone will pick the same choice and everything will happen as it did previously
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No, we're driven by the chemical reactions in our bodies. Love is just an instinct to procreate and protect.
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If we don't have free will and I tell you we do, it's only because it was predetermined that I would.

If we don't have free will, you were predetermined to have an existential crisis regarding free will and the concept of choice.

Have fun in the rabbit hole.
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get out of my head
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omega cookie posted...

If we don't have free will and I tell you we do, it's only because it was predetermined that I would.

If we don't have free will, you were predetermined to have an existential crisis regarding free will and the concept of choice.

Have fun in the rabbit hole.

It is. Hence this topic. We think it exist because our mind is capable of creating other universes where such thing as "ifs" and "woulds" happen
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Sort of.

Either way you're gonna do what you were going to do anyway so it won't matter
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TheMarthKoopa posted...

No such thing as free will. Every living creature only acts according to their programming

Big picture wise, yeah we can only do so much. But in the end I can still choose what I do on smaller levels.
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Your place in the universe is so ridiculously small... Like this small vvv


So I really wouldn't bother yourself too much over it. Just enjoy the ride.
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Topic reminded me of this, might be marginally related:

http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-315
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TheSextMachine posted...

TheMarthKoopa posted...

No such thing as free will. Every living creature only acts according to their programming

Big picture wise, yeah we can only do so much. But in the end I can still choose what I do on smaller levels.

You think you have. Remember your dinner and why you choose it. You think you have choices because alternative exist. You had the ability to get other things than what you ate.

For examlle you have 20 dollars. For that you have several choices, lets say pizza, mcd or taco bell.

All 3 you dan afford and within same distance of more less. That you have choices. But when it comes to the act of choosing itself you have no power over it. You think you have a choice because you have options within your range, and you can imagine the possibility of a world where you choose the alternatives.

Ifcyou reset time over and over and over no matter how numerous your option are you will alwayd pick thecdame thing
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Bump
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Have fun wasting your time trying to find an answer you will never be able to find.
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apolloooo posted...

Leanaunfurled posted...

I'm seeing less of lack of free will and more choices that are determined by our personalities and moods.

Yes, but our personAlities and mood at that time are caused by some things, which is caused by other things and so on.

There is literally no other possibilities where you feel other thing that time. You can rewind time till you die, if you and no one else have memories of the result, everyone will pick the same choice and everything will happen as it did previously

But what about times when people make decisions without caring either way, without any influences? So many times I'm asked what I want to eat for dinner and I give zero shits, I'm just hungry in general, and I just say something.

I see what you're saying and I'm inclined to agree.
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