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From: jeff@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Jeff Dalton)
Subject: Re: Free will (was: Minsky's new article)
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References: <push-0711941928110001@mind.mit.edu> <MARCUS.94Nov8015942@jetsam.cs.pdx.edu> <Cz0LxF.3CM@spss.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 00:30:25 GMT
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In article <Cz0LxF.3CM@spss.com> markrose@spss.com (Mark Rosenfelder) writes:
>In article <MARCUS.94Nov8015942@jetsam.cs.pdx.edu>,
>Marcus Daniels <marcus@jetsam.cs.pdx.edu> wrote:
>>push@mit.edu (Pushpinder Singh) writes:
>>Pushpinder> I have never seen an even slightly coherent explanation of
>>Pushpinder> this concept.  As far as I can see, there's chance and
>>Pushpinder> there's determinism, and there's nothing in between.
>>
>>Causality is implied by absolute determinism.
>>Causality is not denied by the lack of absolute determinism.
>>Free will is denied by causality.
>
>I don't know what definition of free will you're using; but if free will
>means the ability to do what you want, then far from being denied by
>causality, free will depends on it: you don't have free will unless your
>actions are caused by your decisions.

While that is so, it's not the case that free will depends on
*determinism*.  Whether free will is compatible with determinism
is the subject of much philosophical debate.  I'm not sure what
"causality" means in the several statements above.

-- jd

