On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 5:39 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > [Steve] >> Clearly we don't choose beliefs freely. > [Craig, previously] >> But it's clear to me that I do. > > > [Steve] >> Please demonstrate your amazing ability to believe things by force of >> will by willing yourself to believe that you didn't just write the >> post [above].
Craig: > But surely the test we need is not one where YOU decide what I choose to > believe, but where I do. Steve: I made some suggestions, but you can demonstrate your agency with whatever example you want so long as it demonstrates that you can will yourself to believe something that you don't think is true. Don't want to? Just will yourself to want to? Don;t even want to do that? The same nonsensical solution is supplied by the notion of free will. Just will yourself to want to want to and so on, and so on. Craig: > There are so many past examples to choose from, but the most striking one > was when I served on a jury and chose what to believe after hearing > evidence from both sides. Steve: You have no choice but to believe what you deem to be better justified in such a situation. You cannot will yourself to believe what you don't think is true. Craig: > If you want a repeat demonstration, you can give me pro & con evidence > for some proposition & I will choose whether I believe it or its > contradictory. > Of course, beliefs aren't the only thing involved in free will. > You could simply ask me to raise either my right or left arm, > I would choose which to raise. Steve: Or would you be compelled in some way? How could we ever tell the difference? How could that count as a demonstration that is relevant here? Please will yourself not to reply with more irrelevancies if you truly have such an ability. Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
