this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2024
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Three possibilities come to mind:

Is there an evolutionary purpose?

Does it arise as a consequence of our mental activities, a sort of side effect of our thinking?

Is it given a priori (something we have to think in order to think at all)?

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses! Just one thing I saw come up a few times I'd like to address: a lot of people are asking 'Why assume this?' The answer is: it's purely rhetorical! That said, I'm happy with a well thought-out 'I dispute the premiss' answer.

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[–] JoeKrogan@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Perhaps it is the illusion of choice and the choice you make was always going to be that one due to all of the events that shaped you and the events that shaped the people that shaped you etc all the way back to the big bang.

I contemplate this from time to time.

[–] frankPodmore 1 points 3 months ago

Yes, that's the question: if our acts are predetermined all the way back to the big bang, as you suggest, why do we feel that we determine them?

[–] Juice@midwest.social 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Why are we assuming we don't have free will? We do. Its not total freedom, our freedom is contingent on existing circumstances, but hard determinism is easily disprovable.

The idea that there is no free will is a mind fuck that keeps you from questioning your reality. You might as well ask, "assuming the earth is flat, why does the stick disappear on the horizon?"

[–] RazorsLedge@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

This is a nice and brief video that I've found persuasive. https://youtu.be/eELfSwqJNKU

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[–] atro_city@fedia.io 0 points 3 months ago

Simple: We cannot predict the future. If you don't know what's going to happen nor whether it is being controlled, you do not know whether your actions are predetermined. Every movement you make might be the result of universal programming. What I'm typing, have sent, and you are reading might be the sequence of events that was always supposed to happen.

Free will is, IMO, as unknowable as whether an almighty being exists. That "almighty being" might have created this existence, but might also exist in its own realm that was created by another "almighty being". The chain might be infinite and it might not be. Asking these questions is like asking "can we reach infinity".

[–] morphballganon@lemmy.world -2 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Because determinism is too depressing for small minds.

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