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Article 2609 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: peterson@debussy.cs.colostate.edu (james peterson)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: "causal powers"
Message-ID: <1992Jan09.212515.38045@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU>
Date: 9 Jan 92 21:25:15 GMT
References: <5907@skye.ed.ac.uk> <60265@aurs01.UUCP>
Organization: Colorado State Computer Science Department
Lines: 34

In article <60265@aurs01.UUCP> throop@aurs01.UUCP (Wayne Throop) writes:
>
>Hence my question: is there anything that a human can cause that a CR
>or a computer cannot? [ Does a human have any] 
>causal powers (quoted or not) that the CR or computer lacks?

Of course.  A non-determined *choice*.  A human can "cause" itself to
think and act in ways that are not "determined" by the physical causal nexus,
but are rather "motivated" by experience and values..  Humans can "cause"
their thoughts to occur -- they can make things happen for reasons of their
own, independent of the forces of nature (which is all a computer, or
a printing press or grain thresher for that matter, have for "causal powers")
..  
I understand that I am suggesting that free will is what Searle's "causal
powers" come down to.  So, in case you are a determinist, I would like
to have explained how a deterministic being can perform such creative
acts as coming up with a theory of science, a theory of language,
or a theory of mind....   That is, how does a determinist explain the
fortuitous (yet *ex hypothesi* determined) mental events that led
to the postulation of a theory of determinism in the first place?

james sends

>
>At best, "causal powers" seems a very ill-chosen term.
>
>Wayne Throop       ...!mcnc!aurgate!throop


-- 
james lee peterson				peterson@CS.ColoState.edu
dept. of computer science                       
colorado state university		"Some ignorance is invincible."
ft. collins, colorado  (voice:303/491-7137; fax:303/491-6639)


