quote:
Originally posted by Kristoff Olafsson:
I take it upon myself to say that free will does exist, it can exist. Most people do not possess it however- it is a matter of experience. It can be cultivated, and the only sort of free will worth consideration- not the metaphysically based, transcendent "soul" type of free agency-- follows upon an examination and an entering into, and a subsequent development of the nature of thinking. Using mindfulness and attention to our unconscious we can become aware of the psychic forces impelling us into our patterns of consciousness. And by bringing them into consciousness we can work upon them and shape them, and their consequent actions, on the basis of our Ideals- if I may so speak. Slowly, but surely, our consciousness and actions will change as a result, in the full light of consciousness and reason. You can either experience this or ignore it, even ignore the possibility of it. But for those who do experience this, it results in the sort of freedom I'm talking about. In fact, 'free will' MEANS NOTHING apart from experience. Getting trapped in metaphysical logics surrounding 'free will' is what has hampered its development in most people. In truth, their is no way to argue against this-- either you experience it or you don't; that is the whole of which one can argue about. No amount of discursive rambling, nor the manipulations of logicians can deny the barest facts of experience. This is the ground from which all thinking must proceed if it is to lay claim to any sort of knowledge-of-phenomena.

Now, as an example of 'free will' at work: why did I write this? I wrote this primarily as an example of the sort of path which relates to my above commentary on approachin genius. My own "progress" on this path is still only the beginning- but also, the end-in-itself as long as we're thinking purposively and categorically- and developing my thoughts thorugh writing, in response to the wide panorama of divergent views, helps to bind together my thinking as a greater and greater referent of my experience, and my experience-of-thinking. Psychologically, I would presume that it also satifies a desire for expression- and my choosing of this form for that, in full consciousness, is entirely appropriate. Finally, I think that it benefits everyone to read words which point them towards an experience of themselves. I feel that this discursive method, while inadequate and easily deceptive, is the only medium which can adequately speak to a secular, 'Western' audience. If we were in a Zen Monastery I would not feel this need at all. If I were speaking to poets I'd speak in poetry. To engineers, I might even draw them a diagram...but the medium 'is not' the experience. Remember this and be well,
KO

Hmmmm.... I would describe this as "linguistic complexity masquerading as intellectual insight."


You really shed no light whatsoever on the question of free will. So you are saying that there are people who don't have any free will whatsoever, whose actions are completely deterministic? Show me these people! Right now!!

And the process you describe for cultivating free will, is just a prescription for "mindfulness" which has been re-hashed in thousands of different forms, by lots of different people, including on this website. There's nothing new or insightful there.

I like how you say "I presume it satisfies a desire for expression..."
You sound kind of out of touch with yourself...

A better philosophical point to think about: who is it, exactly, that has free will anyway? That's the crux of it. How are you defining this "I". You presume an "I" in relation to "thought", and never bother to define what that is or what you are talking about. What are you talking about?


Just trying to help you become a genius,

Garic