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Old 10-19-2006, 08:53 AM   #11
€uroMeinke
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Not to go down this path - I guess I go with the phenomenological and pragmatic approach when looking at free will.

Metaphysics almost always reduces down to some point of unknowablility, that are perceptions, even those enhanced through science still fail to reveal the true nature of reality. Honestly, ther is no way I can really know if other consciousnesses exist a priori - so I have to either accept that they do, or reject it. The former seems to give me a better go at living my life, the other appears to lead to insanity and ostracism (not that it matters if you don't believe others to exist anyway)

Likewise, free will is how I experience the world. It makes sense that I can prioritzie my desires and calculate to indulge one while denying another. It seems to me that is what consciousness is. Rejecting free will reaaly does nothing to enhance the pragmatic aspects of your life, unless you wish to shirk responsibilities.

It may well be that free will doesn't exist, but I think I live a better life if I live it as if it were true - for at it's core it's unknowable - and honestly, I'm not sure how I'd live my life otherwise, if I plan to hold people responsible for their actions and decissions as I take responsibility for my own.
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