Philosophy Now Forum

Immanuel Can wrote:

thedoc wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b7r5jIEe9s

Ah yes...I know it and love it.

G'day, Bruce.

I'd have to argue with

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will on half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.

, of course.

I’m sorry, Immanuel, but on this occasion I’m struggling to interpret your post in a way that makes any sense whatsoever. You seem, from the way you write, to be quite an intelligent person, (Not for nothing did Spheres call me a “condescending putz”!) so I’m strongly tempted to think that you’re in...

Hi, Vendetta. Welcome to the debate. .........however since there is no true "you" within Determinism due to simply being a product of a chain of events set off by some force (lack of subjectivity) then consciousness cannot exist. I’m puzzled by this remark. I’d have thought that if there ...

But "subjective" then must by a synonym for "misguided." For there is no "subject" to have a "subjective perspective." Each is only an object acted upon by previous forces...and even the existence of an illusion of subjectivity must be no more than the machin...

thedoc wrote:If you drink Rum before noon, it doesn't mean that you are an alcoholic, it means that you are a Pirate.

And most people have Pirated someone else's philosophy.

So that would indicate that it's OK for a philosopher to drink before noon.

That's good! And it's always before noon somewhere!

Immanuel Can wrote:

Dave Mangnall wrote: I drink quite a lot, and habitually at 6pm

How do you get from 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.?

Here it is, 6:30pm already, and this forum’s so fascinating I can’t drag myself away to go and get a drink!

You and booze: no offense, Dave, but mebbe some of what you interpret to be determinism is just booze-addle. No offence taken, Henry, and maybe you’re right, although I don’t think so! All my writing and thinking’s done when I’m sober. (Well, most of it!) Great chunks of my biology are automated bu...

But surely there is no "likely" in Determinism. For "likely" indicates a state of diverse possible outcomes, the "likelihood" of which can be calculated as more or "less" likely. But in Determinism, there only ever is or was ONE outcome possible, and so there...

(Belinda)No. An individual, whether he is a Freewilly or a Determinist, is a pawn to the extent that he reacts to circumstances and fails to use his reason. Inconsistent arguing, I'm afraid. A person who is Deterministically controlled cannot "fail" to do anything. He or she does whatever...

But you are surely 'free' to dodge using those ploys. Or could it be that your response was in fact 'determined' by your fear! But then you have the 'free will to instead 'choose' to quell that fear, to finally think for yourself. Fear, the mind killer! Hi again, Spheres. You’re going to an awful l...

Dave, Speakin' only for me... 'Free will' is a placeholder...there isn't a 'free' or a 'will'...there's a human individual who thinks, feels, self-refers, pauses, considers, assesses, intends, concludes, then does...choice is what a human individual does. I understand what you’re telling me. I don’...

You wrote " Try Honderich’s “How Free Are You?” ". May I recommend the shorter and paperback version? I didn't know there was a longer hardback version! What Free Willers omit is that Free Will is not so much free as random. If an event is uncaused it is random. If I understand the Free W...

I looked up 'causal nexus in philosophy'. The phrase "causal nexus" was first mentioned in these forums, as far as I can remember, by Dave Mangnall. Hi, Belinda. And there I was, thinking I’d invented a phrase! I’ll have to stop using it now, because looking up your reference showed that ...

Dave, Determinism bothers me cuz it can lead to travesty and horror. As I say: convince a man that he's only a product of a chain of events, that he has no real capacity to self-direct, and you can make of him what you will, use him in all manner of deplorable ways. Try googling the following... po...

If I might interject here, the problem isn't with Determinists who are content to believe, and allow others to believe what they will, but with Determinists who insist that everyone believe as they do. I know there is only a small minority but they cause trouble way out of proportion to their numbe...