Determinism vs Free WillFree will cannot clearly win the determinism vs free will debate. Actually, the causal, logical or theological determinists suggest that there is no freedom at all. According to them, an act of will, which is the inevitable result of a series of causes from the beginning of time, can never be free. Since the known cosmos is the outcome of causes and effects, all human choices can only be the result of earlier causes. Only an entity outside the physical world, a soul, a mind independent of the body, or “a ghost in the machine” can have a free will. Only God can be imagined as having unlimited freedom of choice. While it is self evident that human freedom has limits, this article defines "free will" as the freedom to act, within reasonable limits. In reality, even such a limited freedom has limitations. We live more in a deterministic world.
Even a machine can be said to have a limited freedom, if its internal mechanisms makes a few informed choices. The autopilot on an airplane makes navigational choices. Since those choices are made by its own internal mechanism, the plane can be said to be free to a limited extent. Even if the mechanism is responding automatically to wind and speed conditions, the plane still has the freedom to make that limited set of choices. Human beings have three pivotal intelligences, which participate in the living experience - conscious awareness, a conscience and animal instincts. Since the final decisions are not made by any of the three systems, the human will is ultimately confined within a deterministic prison. Only a few great saints can claim to have broken free. Determinism VS Free Will - Causal, Logical And Theological Determinism Determinists hold that everything, including our choices, are the necessary results of a sequence of causes. Chrysippus said “Everything that happens is followed by something else which depends on it by causal necessity. Likewise, everything that happens is preceded by something with which it is causally connected. For nothing exists or has come into being in the cosmos without a cause. The universe will be disrupted and disintegrate into pieces and cease to be a unity functioning as a single system, if any uncaused movement is introduced into it.” Causal determinists propose the Laplace's demon thought experiment. Imagine an entity, which knows all the laws of nature and all past and present facts. Such an entity will theoretically predict exactly how you will act. Logical determinists suggest that since a future event is either true, or false, your action tomorrow can only be the action, which is one of two possible true predictions today. For theological determinists, an omnipotent entity has decided and knows your action tomorrow. In all three cases, a free will is impossible. But, there are compatibilists, who believe that a free will can coexist with determinism. Determinism vs Free Will - Religions On The Concept Of A Free Will Religions generally support the concept of a free will, while believing in an omnipotent creator. The primary approach of Christian belief makes free choice logically impossible. But, the philosopher Kierkegaard suggested that divine omnipotence cannot be separated from divine goodness. A good God could create beings with true freedom over God, because "the greatest good ... which can be done for a being, greater than anything else that one can do for it, is to be truly free." According to Islamic doctrine free will is the main factor for man's accountability. All actions taken by man's free will are said to be counted on the Day of Judgment, because they are his own and not God's. The concept of karma in Hinduism is generally linked to the determination of a person's destiny in future lives. For Buddhism, the idea that a person has complete freedom of choice is foolish, because it denies the reality of one's physical needs and circumstances. Equally incorrect is the idea that we have no choice in life or that our lives are predetermined. To deny freedom would be to undermine the efforts of Buddhists to make moral progress, freely choosing compassionate action. Determinism vs Free Will - The Triune Brain  The Inherited Codes of the triune brain confine the human mind within a deterministic prison. An intuitive decision making process swiftly switches the human levels of consciousness between the raw emotions of a reptilian brain, the social restrictions of a mammalian brain and the rational common sense of RI, a prefrontal brain. Those Codes restrict your choices. Imagine the command center of a business, where a set of rules pass controls between several competing business units. The codes restrict the access of the command center strictly to the advice of the business unit in charge. Since controls are shifted according to rules, neither the business units, nor the command center are free to make decisions. The same for you. Inherited Codes grant precedence to anger signals. Your reptilian brain takes charge. Your consciousness has awareness only of the reasons for anger. Deterministic rules envelop you in anger and silence the will of your common sense.Determinism vs Free Will - Consciousness Is Merely A Mirror Without your permission, you shift between different levels of consciousness. You are just a belated observer of the activities of your mind. Benjamin Libet studied subjects who voluntarily pressed a button, while noting the position of a dot on a computer screen, which shifted its position every 43 milliseconds. The noted moment of depressing the button was the moment of conscious awareness; the exact instant the subject thought the button was pressed. Each time, Libet had also timed the beginning of motor neuron activity in the brains of his subjects. He discovered that awareness occurred 350 milliseconds AFTER the beginning of motor activity. When you strike out in anger, the system has already enveloped you in an angry level of consciousness. Your conscious awareness lives in a deterministic world. Determinism vs Free Will - An Emergent Consciousness A free will is conceivable if your consciousness exists outside the physical world. While science has discovered the neural correlates of consciousness, nothing in the physical world can explain your subjective experience of the three dimensional world of color, sound and sensations. While billions of nerve cells fire to enable you to subconsciously recognize the ideas in this page, or manage your heartbeat and breathing, there is an entity, scientifically linked to a small fraction of the multi-billion cell network, which sees the words on this page - conscious awareness. In the theory of complex systems, emergence is the effect, where new patterns arise out of myriad simple interactions. New properties do emerge at higher levels of complexity. Psychology emerges from biology and biology from chemistry. The whole completely differs from the sum of its parts. Could consciousness emerge into a non physical knowledge dimension as the complexity of a neural network increases? But even if consciousness is nonphysical, Libet's experiments suggest that it still does not control the system. Consciousness shifts powerlessly between its own conflicting levels. Determinism vs Free Will - The Kezwer Approach A study of free will delves into the decision making processes of your mind. The best way to conduct this inquiry is to conduct a few thought experiments. Glen Kezwer advocated using your own mind as a research lab to study experience. "The cost to the government exchequer and the people is nil, no research grants need be applied for, no progress reports are necessary and there is no need to be concerned about the renewal of funding. There is also no pressure to publish papers, technical reports or books on the experiment." Look within your own mind and decide if your will is free. Determinism vs Free Will - A Helpless Will Within the triune brain, the prefrontal region is known to be the seat of judgment, with the ability to decide on the moral implications of a course of action. When the will of the prefrontal region makes decisions, a person exercises his will. The philosopher Rudolf Steiner suggested that true freedom of action existed only “when conscious awareness was integrated with moral imagination in making decisions.” Free will is the freedom of the individual to choose a course of action without external coercion in accordance with his/her ideals or moral outlook. Try this thought experiment. Can your will raise your hand? Yes, when you are sitting quietly in your room. But, suppose you are in an elevator with other passengers. Then, it is inappropriate to raise your arms. If you will this action in that situation, it will not happen. If you continue the Kezwer experiments, you will find that your will is overruled, when an action is not Worthwhile, Appropriate, Safe, or Practical (WASP). It is obvious that will, as expressed by the prefrontal regions, is by no means free. Determinism vs Free Will - A Coded Decision Making Process This website describes an intuitive decision making process by the limbic system, where feedback/feed forward circuits shift controls, based on Inherited Codes, between the emotions triggered from your reptilian/mammalian brains and your will, expressed by your human prefrontal brain. Paul Eckman, the famous emotions scientist acknowledges this lack of conscious controls. "We become aware a quarter, or half second after the emotion begins. I do not choose to have an emotion, to become afraid, or to become angry. I am suddenly angry. I can usually figure out later what someone did that caused the emotion." The Inherited Codes in the limbic system decide, whether you should be angry, or afraid. That is hardly the prescription for a free will. You live life within an undeniably a deterministic system. It can always be argued that that, within the limitations of WASP, a person, who has gained complete control over his emotions, can be expected to be able to completely exercise his free will. But, in a general view of determinism and free wiil, this limited freedom to act can hardly be considered to be an exercise of a true "Free Will." The system still will not permit you to act against the WASP controls. Determinism vs Free Will - Moral Responsibility & Determinism In the present day systems of justice, jurors have a libertarian view of free will and moral responsibility. At the extreme end, no person can be responsible for an action, which could have been predicted from the beginning of time. Neither can a person be blamed, if his action was randomly generated by his nervous system. In real life also, neither will, emotions, or levels of consciousness can decide, without being over ruled by the Inherited Codes, which switch controls between them, within the triune brain. Even damage to the prefrontal regions reduces a person's judgment and increases the possibility of violent crime. The real existence of a deterministic system can lawfully question the true responsibility of a guilty party. But, the Inherited Codes, which switch control systems within the triune brain have vast inherited and acquired knowledge. Those Codes enable the system to have a powerful intuitive perception of the concept of crime and punishment. Those Inherited Codes apply the WASP controls, which rule the system. Those Codes know the consequences of crime. Consequentialist approaches to justice, aimed to promote future welfare rather than mete out just deserts, are needed, in spite of the deterministic restrictions on free will. The Inherited Codes are determinsitic, but intuitively wise. They will respond logically to the possibility of consequences. Back To Top Return from Determinism vs Free Will To Effective Mind Control Home Page Your Comments E-Mail Me Your Comments |
A plane on autopilot can be considered to have the freedom to make a few choices. In the human mind, the final choice is not made by a conscious awareness, a conscience, or even animal instincts. The mind is more or less imprisoned in a deterministic world.
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Effective Mind Control
Mind Control Tips
Steps to reach your highest RI level of consciousness.
A Self Improvement Plan
A life plan for effective stress relief.
Developing Self awareness
The process can take the sting out of your fears and frustrations.
Eugene Gendlin Focusing
About Eugene Gendlin's steps to achieve self awareness.
Who Am I?
The great sage Ramana Maharshi advised his pupil to ask this question.
How To Relax At Work
Steps to help you to relax quickly while at work.
Breathing Exercises
Conscious breathing stills disturbing emotions.
Visceral Reaction
An exercise to subdue the impact of a visceral reaction.
Mindfulness Exercises
Your ability to recognize patterns can improve the quality of your life.
Coping With Stress
How to "Accept the things you cannot change."
About Will Power
Will power has nothing to do with a free will.
The Startle Response
On dealing with unwanted surprises in life.
Your Hidden Emotions
Your Hidden Emotions
How to uncover and regulate your hidden emotions.
When Life Has No Meaning
Finding the meaning of life has little to do with your happiness.
Overcoming Shyness
It is all about being comfortable with people.
Developing Intuition
Enrich your life by gaining timely and helpful insights.
A Cure For Boredom
Permanently cure the boredom malady.
The EFT Way To Be Happy
Be rid of your bad feelings through acupressure.
I Am So Sad
Not a mild, momentary unhappiness, but afeeling of intense grief.
Make Life Meaningful
Can 15 year old Angie make life meaningful?
What Causes Fear
A potential for pain, or an unrecognizable event, causes fear.
Dealing With Severe Guilt
A few years back, Ann swung out on to the outer lane to overtake...
Controlling Anger
Achieve a measure of control and your mind will not revert.
On Swallowing Your Pride
All about avoiding embarrassment.
The Power Of Gratitude
While it brings a sense of well-being, is it justified?
Social Comparison
A relentless and often troubling drive within you.
Overcoming Low Self Esteem
Learn to rid yourself of a painful habit.
Respect
Respect is a herd emotion, which helps you to jump the queue.
What Is Trust?
Trust is a positive emotion, which makes people rely on others.
Contempt
The word "contempt" implies either disgust, or disrespect. The two are different.
The Power Of Expectation
Hidden expectations become self-fulfilling prophesies
Pessimist To Optimist
Switch off pessimism and improve your health.
A View Of The Mind
How The Mind Works
Pattern recognition explains the brilliant wisdom of the mind.
The Triune Brain
The three guiding objectives of nature's control systems.
Consciousness & Soul
Your consciousness occasionally mirrors your soul.
Levels of consciousness
Evolution created different levels of consciousness.
What Causes Emotions?
The neural signals, which control behavior.
The Secret Of Intuition
Intuition is a pattern recognition algorithm.
The Subconscious Mind
The troubling drives within your subconscious mind.
What Is Intelligence?
A 2004 Nobel Prize refers to the central secret of human and animal intelligence.
Human Memory Capacity
About the immense capacity of human memory.
The Olfactory Sense
The olfactory sense has used a specific coding principle for hundreds of millions of years.
How Do We Remember?
Nerve cells recognize your current emotion and recall related images.
Long Term Potentiation
LTP is not the basis for human memory, but merely assists memory retrieval.
Behavior Pattern Recognition
Enables the mind to understand events.
Memory Research
Science has not focused on its huge capacity and precision.
Amygdala & Emotions
The amygdala triggers your emotions faster than your conscious awareness.
Insular Cortex & Social Emotions
The insular cortex grants you self awareness, empathy and social discipline.
Mirror Neurons
How can a group of neurons generate a subtle experience like empathy?
Stress Relief & Attention
Focusing attention inwards is the secret of effective mind control.
Theory of Mind
The knowledge, which enables you to predict and manipulate the behavior of others.
Meditation Benefits
Understand why it works.
A Theory Of Motivation
Motivation levels are regulated by neural pattern recognition events.
Acupuncture - How it Works
Acupuncture utilizes the capacity of the mind to sense combinatorial patterns.
Daniel Amen
How he links brain images to behavioral problems is inexplicable to many scientists.
Determinism vs Free Will
Free will loses in the determinism vs free will debate.
Define Common Sense
Science cannot clearly define common sense.
Intuitive Decision Making
Intuition can hand over control to fear, or make wise decisions.
Organ Transplants
Behavior transfer after organ transplants.
The Limbic System
The limbic system makes the behavioral choices of the human mind.
Artificial Intelligence
The AI disadvantage
AI lacks the real tools needed to succeed. It has one now!
Uncertainty & Expert Systems
Uncertainty can assist Expert Systems to diagnose problems.
Future Computers And Robotics
The Evolution Of Computers
The next stage is pattern recognition, leading to true artificial intelligence.
Robots In Our Future
They will, one day, be able to read and understand this article.
Kurzweil Singularity
Singularity will not be the end of human understanding.
Watson Computer - Finally, Strong AI!
UIMA, a program that can read and understand this article.
A View Of Management
Motivation Techniques
Motivation techniques should be humane and help people to achieve excellence.
Stress Free Career Success
Stress free career success is possible even if you are not a millionaire.
Practice Love and Compassion
Practice love and compassion as your life strategy and flow with the tide of nature.
NLP For Dummies
NLP is for dummies.
Living In The Now
A way of blocking out bad thoughts and finding joy.
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