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From: telford@threetek.dialix.oz.au (Telford Tendys)
Subject: Re: Free Will
In-Reply-To: elabonte@ix.netcom.com's message of 21 Jan 1996 19:19:59 GMT
Message-ID: <1996Jan25.063751.16585@threetek.dialix.oz.au>
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Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 06:37:51 GMT
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> From: elabonte@ix.netcom.com(Edward LaBonte )
>
> >I cannot see the inconsistency of free will. Choose one: Green or
> >Blue. Whatever choice you make, will have a different outcome. I
> >have written two responses, one for each color. The responses
> >will affect you in different ways. The values you base your
> >decision upon are your own. The principles of nature will not
> >determine your choice.
> 
> Roulette wheels make the same types of decisions all the time. Are they
> free willed creatures also? Is randomness the same as freedom?

Yes, yes, yes! Randomness is complete freedom and elements of
randomness are contained in all of our decisions, though some more
than others.

> >Freedom is the lack of constraint upon the exercising of what you
> >will. If you constrain other's freedom with your will, then you
> >are violating their rights. Moral constraints I choose are not
> >restrictions on my freedom. so long as I choose them (for they
> >are choices).
>
> A constraint is not a restriction? You are defining free will as
> freedom from outward constraint. That's a very limited definition. If I
> get sick in the middle of a theater and throw up on the guy in front of
> me have I done so of my own free will? Certainly nobody has forced me.

A slap to you sir for thinking in binary. A decision can be composed
partly from constraints and partly from random elements. Possibly you
were feeling a little queezy when you entered the theatre but wanted
to see the flick anyhow so you ignored it. The film was more disgusting
than you had expected so you found it increasingly difficult to forget
the way you thought you could save a few bucks by buying a cheap lunch.

Now, the hot-dog salesman could probably have predicted that you would
heave sooner or all later but even such a seasoned expert would have
great difficulty predicting exactly when. Somewhat random, somewhat
constrained. A continum exists from total freedom (randomness) to total
constraint (automaton) with most of the interesting people found
part-way between the two. None of us are completely free to make any
decision but none of us are completely predictable either.

(OK, well I always support the same POV in the Free Will spamfest
but I try to argue slightly different points each time).

	- Tel

<great effort, great faith, great doubt>
