gam@proper.UUCP (Gordon Moffett) (07/30/84)
$
Here is a dilemma: how to prove free will exists.
My dictionary says that free will is a "choice between alternatives."
Now, in order to show that I have free will, I need to show that:
a) I have a selection of alternatives
b) that I alone select one without (from the dictionary
again) "external coercion"
c) that in selecting an alternative I have avoided
an otherwise deterministic (predetermined) outcome.
Well, to be aware of (a) I would have the know that there is a
future which offers me some alternatives. I cannot see into the
future (granted that I may deduce the future but I still cannot
see it, and my deductions are not infallible).
With (c) again I would need the future perspective to see that
"if I had done thus and such this would have happened." Again,
this is deductive reasoning, not seeing the future.
So we are trapped in the present! We cannot see the future (though
we can attempt to deduce it), so I cannot prove that I have free will.
Of course, I have not disproved it either, but I have simply shown that
I haven't sufficient information for a proof and unless I can see
into the future I never will.
This also does not exclude the possibility of determinism. Both are
likely outcomes, though the latter is easier to prove.
In conclusion, my dictionary says "... choose ... without external
coercion but in accordance with the ideals or moral outlook of the
individual." Gee, where did those ideals and morals come from?
Now, if I could show that THEY are results of deterministic action....
--
Gordon A. Moffett
{ hplabs!nsc, decvax!sun!amd, ihnp4!dual } !proper!gam