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YOU HAVE A

CHOICE TO WATCH
THIS
PRESENTATION
OR DO YOU?

FREE WILL
I am conscious of making decisions; I then perform the
corresponding actions.

Doesn't that prove that I have free will?

FREE WILL

Answer: no, it doesn't.


It is entirely possible that I could have the experience of choosing
freely even though I never do.

FREE WILL
To illustrate this point, consider the following examples from Daniel
Wegner, The Illusion of Conscious Will (MIT Press, 2002).
First, a quotation from an article by Jose Delgado:
"In one of our patients, electrical stimulation of the rostral part of the
internal capsule produced head turning and slow displacement of the body
to either side with a well-oriented and apparently normal sequence, as if the
patient were looking for something. This stimulation was repeated six times
on two different days with comparable results. The interesting fact was that
the patient considered the evoked activity spontaneous and always offered
a reasonable explanation for it. When asked, 'what are you doing?' the
answers were, 'I am looking for my slippers', 'I heard a noise', 'I am
restless', and 'I was looking under the bed'." (Wegner, p. 46.)
.

FREE WILL
Second, an experiment with magnets which influence brain
function. "In this experiment, a stimulation magnet was poised above
the participant's head and aimed in random alternation at the motor
area on either side of the brain. Then the participant was asked to
move a finger whenever a click was heard (the click of the electrical
switch setting off the magnet). Participants were asked to choose freely
whether to move their right or left index finger on each trial. Then the
magnet was moved around while they responded. Although the
stimulation led the participants to have a marked preference to move
the finger contralateral to the site stimulated, particularly at short
response times, they continued to perceive that they were voluntarily
choosing which finger to move." (Wegner, pp. 47-48.)

FREE WILL

FREE WILL

DETERMINISM
Free will is an illusion!

BARUCH SPINOZA:
DETERMINISM
1632-1677
Born in Amsterdam

Jewish

Unlike Descartes (dualist), Spinoza


was a monist
Substance monist: a thing that can
exist on its own (independent
existence)
Were part of this substance, its
God or nature

BARUCH SPINOZA:
DETERMINISM
Determinism: for any event, there is a
cause or causes
Fatalism: belief that what will happen
has already been decided and cannot
be changed
Difference: one (determinism) requires
a cause
Our choices are caused

BARUCH SPINOZA:
DETERMINISM
Believes that by knowing about
external causes, you can control
them
You can become more selfdetermining and less victimized
Therefore, he is a determinist who
believes in freedom

I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals Himself in the lawful


harmony of the world, not in a God who concerns Himself
with the fate and the doings of mankind

Albert

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