Free Will

[Anonymous No.11148791]

https://psychcentral.com/news/2017/01/25/belief-in-free-will-linked-to-greater-happiness/115573.html

The existence of free will is the subject of debate among psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers. The argument against free will is that each decision we make is completely influenced by our previous life experiences. In other words, this theory states that when we are given a certain choice, our experiences will trigger us to respond in a certain way — which is actually not a free choice.

So why might believing in free will make someone feel happier? Perhaps such a belief increases levels of perceived autonomy and helps to facilitate self-control and deliberate effort to achieve goals, leading to successful outcomes.

In fact, previous studies with Western participants have found that a belief in free will is tied to increased happiness, better work performance and academic achievements, and fewer negative behaviors such as cheating. In contrast, in studies where Western participants were given information that discouraged a belief in free will, researchers saw an increase in cheating behavior, aggression, and decreased self-control.

cont.

[Anonymous No.11148792]

For the new study, the researchers wanted to determine whether a belief in free will can impact levels of happiness in Chinese people. They asked Chinese teenagers a series of questions about their own beliefs in free will as well as their own levels of happiness.

They found that 85 percent of the Chinese teenagers expressed a belief in free will, and that this belief was positively correlated with happiness. This suggests that believing in free will may have a beneficial effect on happiness, regardless of individualistic or collectivistic cultural influences.

But even though they found a correlation between believing in free will and greater happiness, the study does not indicate a direct causal effect. Next, the researchers plan to investigate if a belief in free will directly causes happiness in the Chinese population. These studies will involve assessing behavior in people whose beliefs have changed regarding free will.

“We are currently conducting investigations on the potential for causality between these two variables,” said Dr. Jingguang Li, professor at Dali University. “We plan to change participants’ belief in free will in the laboratory by exposing them to materials that either support or disprove the existence of free will, and then observe whether their happiness levels change.”

[Anonymous No.11148843]

>>11148791
>Completely /influenced/
That's a weird choice of words. Influenced only implies limited impact, your precious experiences don't dictate your actions, they just guide you towards certain paths. One of the key attributes of the human is the ability to reflect, both upon previous actions and possible new ones. Lesser beings will have a harder time figuring out how to behave in new situations, they act upon instinct and previous experiences alone.

[Anonymous No.11148853]

>>11148843
So, you're suggesting free will isn't a "yes or no" binary, but more like a spectrum or scale, beings with higher levels of consciousness have more free will because of their ability to engage with more information about their environment than what is just in front of them on a pure sensorial level.

[Anonymous No.11148872]

>>11148853
Yeah, that sounds about right. It doesn't make sense to discuss free will in ants and birds on the same level as human free will

[Anonymous No.11148874]

>>11148872
Agreed.

[Anonymous No.11148894]

>>11148843
>ability to reflect
You can't reflect on what didn't happen, so yes, "completely influenced"

[Anonymous No.11148937]

>>11148894
You're not really reflecting on this very well, that's what imagination is for. Or calculation, just any action where you run through different scenarios that could happen. You don't have a preprogrammed, destined response, that's the point.

[Anonymous No.11148941]

>>11148894
If I were to ask you "What are you not thinking of now?"

[Anonymous No.11148956]

>>11148937
Yes I do. And you do. All your imagination and calculation inevitably leads to the same result.

[Anonymous No.11148965]

>>11148956
So, any result is predetermined?

[Anonymous No.11148967]

>>11148956
Prove it.

[Anonymous No.11148984]

>>11148956
What makes my result my result then?

[Anonymous No.11149002]

>>11148956
>>11148984
>same result?
All your imagination and calculation inevitably leads to A result.

[Anonymous No.11149013]

>>11148791
>this theory states
not a theory
Get you shit together /sci/.
Also free will is the realm of philosophy, theology and semantics, not /sci/ence.

[Anonymous No.11149033]

>>11148791
>Gauwd, why hath thee cursed us with free will!

[Anonymous No.11149036]

>>11148791
Happiness is not a scientific metric. This is a philosophical ideal not an empierical quality.

[Anonymous No.11149037]

>>11149002
>All your imagination and calculation inevitably leads to A result.
>inevitably
[citation needed]

...besides, it really doesn't matter, does it?
As long as _I'm_ the one making the decision, it's my decision.

And there's no practical application to claiming my past can lead to only one future.
If you stop sending bank robbers to jail because they "we destined to rob those banks", then more people will start robbing banks.

[Anonymous No.11149044]

>>11148791
Worth reading.
http://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/godTaoist.html

[Anonymous No.11149060]

>>11148791
Free will can not exist as our perception of free will is just a result of particle and field interaction along natures laws. Change my mind. Pro tip: You can't.

[Anonymous No.11149077]

>>11149044
The beginning was decent at least

[Anonymous No.11149104]

>>11149077
The best part is the last fifth.

[Anonymous No.11149302]

>>11149060
>doesn't believe he has agency in his life
>declares his mind is stubborn and unchangeable

Glorious, the pottery is beautiful today.

[Anonymous No.11149563]

>>11149060

[Anonymous No.11149582]

>>11148853
this aka changing your stars in past ages which is highly relevant

[Anonymous No.11149592]

>>11148937
>You don't have a preprogrammed, destined response
blue pilled and cringe and provably false I am gonna take a wild guess and assume you know nothing about classical conditioning and/or Pavlov's dog.

[Anonymous No.11149608]

>>11149013
>Also free will is the realm of philosophy, theology and semantics, not /sci/ence.

Wrong it is in fact rather simple math the only question is how to interpret the math because it goes into a grey area of what you consider to be "your will" vs your role in the matrix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voqjl5yDsyk

[Anonymous No.11149628]

>>11149608
>it goes into a grey area of what you consider to be "your will" vs your role in the matrix.

Which is really pointless anyway because you are just an observer on this ride btw, not even God has free will inside of the matrix because if anything in it ever deviates from schedule in the slightest the entire thing comes crashing down like Dr Manhattan's Mars structure/ Do things outside of the matrix have free will? Impossible to know because we don't know what is there but I would say all realities are simply a machine work for experiencing consciousness who the fuck knows why or what the ultimate goal is, perhaps there isn't one we are just stuck here because this is just what existence is an endless loop experiencing shit for no real purpose.

[Anonymous No.11149666]

>>11148791
Can you define "free will", non-recursively?

[Anonymous No.11149692]

>>11149302
kek

[Anonymous No.11149703]

>>11148791
Suppose physical determinism is false.
A man can do what he wants
But he absolutely cannot will what he wants
Therefore, free will is refuted. You are always a puppet to something else. Be it your urge to procreate, find love, eat, learn etc--stuff you have no control over.

[Anonymous No.11149727]

>>11149703
>You are always a puppet to something else.
>>11149628
>Which is really pointless anyway because you are just an observer on this ride btw, not even God has free will
>>11149608
>what you consider to be "your will" vs your role in the matrix.
Sure is dark in here.
Are you guys _sure_ you aren't emotionally driven to your conclusions?

[Anonymous No.11149738]

>>11149727
I wasn't being dark I have done all the science to its ultimate conclusion this is where it leads. Sorry I didn't put it in flowery language I wasn't trying to be a Debbie downer just speaking colloquially. This is just as far as I got. The Vedic texts go further but I haven't attempted to work out the science to verify any of it yet. Apparently we move up lokas which are much nicer, less density so it is more like our dreams all the time then this more dense 3d realm. I mean sounds pretty sweet but the question is how do we get out of this shit hole to get there? The Emerald Tablets of Thoth speak of the halls of Amenti being guarded by some hell hounds, I imagine this is just metaphor meaning magnetic fields keeps us trapped here until specific planetary alignments open the "gates of heaven" to let us out every so 10's of 1000 years. I am hoping I can find some back door however in time when I really dig into it

[Anonymous No.11149743]

>>11149738
He's right, he's clearly done all the science.

[Anonymous No.11149749]

>>11149743
Fools mock what they don't understand which is why they are fools

[Anonymous No.11149759]

>>11149563
based

[Anonymous No.11149775]

>>11149749
But you just told me so. You said you'd done all the science to it's ultimate conclusion. Did you change your mind?

[Anonymous No.11150074]

>>11149563
Mortal: Do you really claim that I am incapable of determining to act against natural law?

God: It is interesting that you have twice now used the phrase "determined to act" instead of "chosen to act." This identification is quite common. Often one uses the statement "I am determined to do this" synonymously with "I have chosen to do this." This very psychological identification should reveal that determinism and choice are much closer than they might appear. Of course, you might well say that the doctrine of free will says that it is you who are doing the determining, whereas the doctrine of determinism appears to say that your acts are determined by something apparently outside you. But the confusion is largely caused by your bifurcation of reality into the "you" and the "not you." Really now, just where do you leave off and the rest of the universe begin? Or where does the rest of the universe leave off and you begin? Once you can see the so-called "you" and the so-called "nature" as a continuous whole, then you can never again be bothered by such questions as whether it is you who are controlling nature or nature who is controlling you. Thus the muddle of free will versus determinism will vanish. If I may use a crude analogy, imagine two bodies moving toward each other by virtue of gravitational attraction. Each body, if sentient, might wonder whether it is he or the other fellow who is exerting the "force." In a way it is both, in a way it is neither. It is best to say that it is the configuration of the two which is crucial.

[Anonymous No.11150076]

>>11150074
Mortal: You said a short while ago that our whole discussion was based on a monstrous fallacy. You still have not told me what this fallacy is.

God: Why, the idea that I could possibly have created you without free will! You acted as if this were a genuine possibility, and wondered why I did not choose it! It never occurred to you that a sentient being without free will is no more conceivable than a physical object which exerts no gravitational attraction. (There is, incidentally, more analogy than you realize between a physical object exerting gravitational attraction and a sentient being exerting free will!) Can you honestly even imagine a conscious being without free will? What on earth could it be like? I think that one thing in your life that has so misled you is your having been told that I gave man the gift of free will. As if I first created man, and then as an afterthought endowed him with the extra property of free will. Maybe you think I have some sort of "paint brush" with which I daub some creatures with free will and not others. No, free will is not an "extra"; it is part and parcel of the very essence of consciousness. A conscious being without free will is simply a metaphysical absurdity.

[Anonymous No.11150085]

>>11148843
>>11148937
>>11148937
Spotted the 98 IQ /pol/ tourist / brainlet normie.