Not necessarily. A lot of actions can be impulsive or influenced by physical conditions, such as adrenaline. Some physical conditions could also be because of mental conditions - debating with someone and "defending" your beliefs could be construed as a matter of survival, which in terms makes you less rational.
Oh I know. I meant voluntary, actions like punching a wall.
Not a conscious decision. You've got two selves (for the most part): The manager, makes the big decisions, takes control most of the time. Night-watcher, does the heavy lifting, doesn't get paid much and does overtime.
Yes, except it's like the two workers are twins. It's part of the ssame brain so the the personality is the same. When you're sleepwalking it's like your personality is on autopilot. Your personality is on when you're sleepwalking but your not conscience.
Self-awareness on a constant level is a HUGE step in mature growth for people, if you ask me.
Sorry, let me fix that.
so it's technically your choice, whether you were aware of it or not.
I meant that your brain holds your personality. So your brain will show it even in your sleep.
The years I've been on AG I think a lot of people have seen a change in my general attitude towards people. An example was my admittedly very insulting posts on the first page of Christianity FTW, hell, I wouldn't do that now I don't think. I've learnt to take emotion out of the equation (something I knew at a much younger age but only recently grew on), isn't that less human?
Oh I know. I meant voluntary, actions like punching a wall.
Which would probably be done when you're angry - a mental and physical condition which influences you judgement.
Your personality is on when you're sleepwalking but your not conscience.
I would question that, :P
I meant that your brain holds your personality. So your brain will show it even in your sleep.
Ish. Your brain doesn't just hold your personality, it hugely influences it - you're effectively a different person in each state you're in, which is why self-awareness is such a fulfilling thing to do.
Your influence on your sub-conscious is really only what you've trained it to do, but aside from that it takes its own road.
I don't need to be bored, and I personally think philosophy is one of the best things to do, even if you have more "fun" alternatives.
have nothing better to do.
I agree it can be fun/interesting to do, but you aren't going to spend 2 hours nit picking over vague meanings and uncertainties when you have a paper due.
I think we need to define free will. It seems to me like we all might be using a different definition of it.
To me, free will is having the ability to choose/pick decisions without threats or consequences in general. Even if it's not -you- choosing/picking (I'm not sure how you would prove if it is or isn't) you are still making a different decision than that if you had some threat hanging over you.
Websters defines free will. 1 : voluntary choice or decision <I do this of my own free will> 2 : freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention
By the first definition we could have free will by the second it's questionable as each choice we make will be on some level determined by a prior cause.
I agree it can be fun/interesting to do, but you aren't going to spend 2 hours nit picking over vague meanings and uncertainties when you have a paper due.
I would finish the paper or dwell on the philosophy as I do it. It depends what its about though - if it is something moral I will CERTAINLY put it at highest priority.
I think we need to define free will. It seems to me like we all might be using a different definition of it.
Didn't I already mention my definition? :P
Mine is the way you react in the positions you are in, and how influenced it is by your physical / mental condition.
freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention
So if there is no prior cause, why do you then choose something? Why do you choose what you choose? Also your decisions are influenced by emotions, thoughts etc. But can you control your emotions or thoughts or do they simply arise and you're just noticing them?
I'd like to quote Harris again^^
It is generally argued that our sense of free will presents a compelling mystery: on the one hand, it is impossible to make sense of in causal terms; on the other, we feel that we are the authors of our own actions. However, I think that this mystery is itself a symptom of our confusion. It is not that free will is simply an illusion: our experience is not merely delivering a distorted view of reality; rather, we are mistaken about the character of our experience. We do not feel as free as we think we do. Our sense of our own freedom results from our not paying close attention to what it is like to be ourselves in the world. The moment we do pay attention, we begin to see that free will is nowhere to be found, and our subjectivity is perfectly compatible with this truth. Thoughts and intentions simply arise in the mind. What else could they do? The truth about us is stranger than many suppose: the illusion of free will is itself an illusion.
Given this talk on free will this might be of interest to some. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/ Websters defines free will. 1 : voluntary choice or decision <I do this of my own free will> 2 : freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention By the first definition we could have free will by the second it's questionable as each choice we make will be on some level determined by a prior cause.
Well this explains a lot. My definition is the first and everyone else's definition is the second :P
After doing some searching I've found this is actually a legitimate question people have asked.
If you're looking hard enough specifically for it, you can find reasons why [insert random religion, group, nation, ethnic or whatever] shouldn't eat meat. I'm not surprised people got confused.
Being a vegetarian or vegan is a personal choice.
There are times when I'm tempted to think those are actually modern-day diseases of civilisation...^^
