Neuroscience: free will does not exist

[mcrom901]

Neuroscience, free will and determinism: 'I'm just a machine'

Our bodies can be controlled by outside forces in the universe, discovers Tom Chivers.

Read more...

Edited November 15, 2010 by mcrom901

[ohio state buckeyes]

Im not sure I really understand the science of it but the headline is misleading. Of course we have free will maybe sometimes bad actions are commented without thought but in the end in most cases its our choice.

[Toolite]

We have free will once we die..because we never die we are always alive spiritually.. just the flesh passes away.. and our spirit or soul is who we really are and that lives on..

All The Glory Belongs To God Forever!

[Big Bad Voodoo]

Realy intresting theory.

[over9millionyearsold]

We have free will once we die..because we never die we are always alive spiritually.. just the flesh passes away.. and our spirit or soul is who we really are and that lives on..

All The Glory Belongs To God Forever!

Of course... but souls don't exist so yah...

[SolarPlexus]

I've been telling this to people for years and they call me crazy!

The thread i've made in February. Why i think we dont have free will (choice)...

Another UM news article from March this year. Biologist: free will is an illusion. Full article.

Alexander Chizhevsky - sunspots and war.

Edited November 17, 2010 by SolarPlexus

[SolarPlexus]

"Свако живо биће је машина прикључена на точак универзума. Mада наизглед на њега делује само његова непосредна околина, поље спољног утицаја шири се у недоглед. Не постоји ни једна констeлација звезда или маглина, Сунце или планета, у дубинама неограниченог простора, нити луталица звезданог неба, који на неки начин не утичу на његову судбину - али не у нејасном и варљивом смислу астрологије, већ у непоколебљивом и поузданом смислу природне Hауке."

~ Hикола Tесла

"Any living being is a machine attached to the cogwheel of the universe. Although at first glance, it is influenced only by it's immediate surroundings, the field of external influence spans indefinitely. There is no single constellation of stars or nebulae, the Sun or planets, in the depths of unlimited space, nor wanderers of starry sky, which somehow do not affect it's fate - but not in the vague and elusive terms of astrology, but in a firm and reliable sense of the natural Science."

~ Nikola Tesla

The greatest scientist who ever lived.

[SolarPlexus]

Of course... but souls don't exist so yah...

You don't have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.

[Auto-G]

It's not as cut and dried as it might seem - in either direction. The thing is that information manages the conduct of activity, and always has. In the behavior of animals, we call it "natural instinct", and it resides in the double-helix strands of DNA that dictate the best course of over-all activity for the animal in question. Human beings are unique in that they are directed by a constantly shifting balance between DNA instinct and the generated intellect information that is determined to manage its own development in the form of what we call The Personality. Freud referred to this tug-of-war as the Id versus the SuperEgo with the Ego as the resulting blend between the two.

While it's true that complete free will is impossible (I certainly can't be the rich and powerful flying bathing suit model that I would rather be) but freedom of choice between available options does exist. That said, there will always be the battle between what the corporeal body knows is the best option for its own survival and what the Personality wants because it sees it as building material for the inimitable Identity that it's been tasked to construct.

The next time you say "Screw it, I'm getting bombed tonight, and to hell with everyone!", as much as it might seem as though you're giving in to your lower, animal (Id) self, the truth is that you're actually surrendering to your higher, intellect (SuperEgo) Personality. The DNA will always go for what's healthy and reasonably safe for the corporeal body. As it is with all animals other than the human animal. The b*tch about the Personality is that it often doesn't have its corporeal generator's best interest at heart. The Personality's mission is not to maintain corporeal functionality. Its mission is to use that functionality to craft a unique identity for the emerging human being. To be blunt about it, that usually doesn't mean crafting the best identity for that human being. More often than not, it means getting the job done in the most efficient way possible, and with the least amount of resistance. In the end, the human being just has to be unique for the Personality to be successful. Beyond the reaches of societal preferences, there is no such thing as good or bad. There's only inimitable, and while your DNA wants you to do what's been proven to work, your Personality wants you to break for open field - and regardless of the implications.

That's something to consider when thinking about the issue of free will.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Auto-G

[SolarPlexus]

While it's true that complete free will is impossible (I certainly can't be the rich and powerful flying bathing suit model that I would rather be) but freedom of choice between available options does exist.

How can we have both?

[Virtual Particle]

We have predispositions and within the context of those inclinations we can choose...

[Kayl Ryck]

It is also possible to over-think.

If one cannot think independently and objectively, one is in no position to make any valid argument whatsoever.

~ KR

Edited November 24, 2010 by Kayl Ryck