MFs I have some things to say on the self as well, and then I'll get on to the other issues of the month. The problem with suggesting that we don�t have free will is that, on the surface, seems to be the same as suggesting there�s no freedom, and that�s an argument that just won�t be tolerated. That�s probably why everyone is bending over backwards to avoid coming out and denying free will. But it isn�t exactly the same thing. The argument I�m making isn�t that there is no freedom, it�s simply that there�s no ghostly little �self� inside my head which �wills� all my actions. Nobody would deny that free will and the self seem obvious. If we�re human we cannot help but conceptualize our experience like that. The fact that the self 1. is unlocatable 2. contradicts direct experience 3. is quite literally impossible. doesn�t do much to weaken the sense that we generally have that it exists somewhere inside us, if not in our bodies, then at least in our minds. We talk about freedom, but as long as we cling to the idea of self, then we constantly misinterpret actual experience. We strongly feel and believe in �I� and �the world apart from me�. Instead of simply attending to reality, we interpret everything with reference to our own egos; we�re constantly afraid that our �self� might be damaged, or negated, or taken away, and that clouds our perception. Any concept of freedom that defines freedom as �freedom of the self� or �freedom of the will of the self� is therefore inherently a kind of bondage. The only real freedom is in seeing that the �I� cannot be found and therefore the mind is free and no longer protective of its own ego. Diana MOQ.org - http://www.moq.org
