karl@dartvax.UUCP (S. Delage.) (07/08/84)
--- What difference does it make if we have free will or not? We certainly are unaware of anyone [AnyOne] pulling our strings, in the sense that all our moves are planned beforehand, and we're just acting out. It doesn't seem important, or possible to resolve. How would we ever know that some Puppeteer was up there? Presumably our dance steps would not included ever meeting Him. As for Skinner, I think you're referring to another kind of free will with him. He tells us that we act in certain ways not because we want to, or choose to, but because of stimuli in the environment, genetic predispositions, and our past conditioning history. ( I know I'm repeating myself, but it doesn't seem to be sinking in! ) I think you'll admit that explaining our behavior by saying "I chose to do it" leaves a little to be desired. Namely, why did you choose? Also, the word "choose" is misleading for Skinner, implying that we went through some sort of decision process, everything whirled around in our brain [or mind, as you will] for a while, and then we decided what to do. ( That is a somewhat unfair, but mostly accurate, representation of cognitive psychology. ) True, we may have thought about what was going on, but our thinking is ruled by the same contingencies as everything else, as I pointed out before. Free will seems to me to be much like minds. How does it help us explain anything that we couldn't before? dartvax!karl karl@dartmouth