Your thoughts initiate your deliberate actions, whether the thoughts be fully conscious or subconscious. — Paul Michael
I think this is the problem, and it’s even in the language you’ve used: our thoughts might be given to us, but our “deliberate actions” come from us. We have a thought to do one thing and a thought to do another; options and a choice. — AJJ
Free will is the ability to choose between more than one viable option or action, — Paul Michael
I'll be granting this definition.The definition of free will I will be using here comes from Trick Slattery. Free will is the ability to choose between more than one viable option or action, in which the choice is “up to the chooser”. — Paul Michael
I think you're concluding this prematurely.However, it’s never possible for you to have more than one viable option to choose between for your next thought. — Paul Michael
Here you are introducing a hidden premise that the viable option being selected must be the content of the next thought. I don't think this is justified.To illustrate this, let’s say you want to freely will your next thought. You would have to think of the options yourself, as they couldn’t just present themselves to you externally or in any other way. But as soon as you think of the first option, you’ve already thought your next thought. — Paul Michael
It appears that the logic you're employing here is that if Y follows from X; and X is not a selection from a viable set of options, then Y is not a selection from a viable set of options. This does not seem to follow.Your thoughts initiate your deliberate actions, whether the thoughts be fully conscious or subconscious. If you can’t freely will any of your thoughts, how can you freely will any of your actions which are based on and initiated by your thoughts? — Paul Michael
Do you have free will regarding your thoughts? Well, first notice that your thoughts occur linearly through time in succession — Paul Michael
thoughts occur linearly through time in succession. — Paul Michael
Imagine now the first thought you ever had (I'm about 99% certain that you won't recall it), itself initiated by factors beyond your control, set the ball rolling and you are what you are (thought-wise) because of that first thought! — TheMadFool
That would be thought-determinism in a nutshell, wouldn’t it? :grin: — Paul Michael
THERE IS AS YET INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR A MEANINGFUL ANSWER. — Multivac (The Last Question)
If you can never freely will your next thought, then you can’t freely will any of them, since all thoughts are your next thought at some point in time. Your thoughts initiate your deliberate actions, whether the thoughts be fully conscious or subconscious. If you can’t freely will any of your thoughts, how can you freely will any of your actions which are based on and initiated by your thoughts? — Paul Michael
It's very good that your brought up a definition of the key term of your topic. Really few do this!Free will is the ability to choose between more than one viable option or action, in which the choice is “up to the chooser — Paul Michael
I'm not sure that this is so, but if it is true, then you shouldn't call it "free will" but something else. Because this will affect your thesis, i.e. there's no free will. Which is totally wrong, based on simple logic as well as thousands of examples in life. (I gave already a couple of them.)The reason I’m using this definition is because it seems to capture what most people mean by free will — Paul Michael
My answer is sometimes yes, other times no. Thoughts can be produced both voluntarily and involuntarily.Do you have free will regarding your thoughts? — Paul Michael
Right. One thought can produce another one and so on, in a chain. And if I can't control this "flow", alas, I'm at the mercy of my subconscious! No control! I'm doomed! Fortunately though, I can get control on time, before I don't lose it! See, exerting my free will, I can stop it, start a new thread of thoughts or do something else. All that, thanks to my free will! You see, one thought producing another can be done completely consciously, as in producing arguments in a discussion, solving a Math problem, proving a hypothesis, and so one. This is actually what I'm actually doing right now. I'm not dictated by external force, spirit or some magic power what to write. I consciously construct every thought that I am noting down by typing it. The whole process is totally controllable and based on free will.every thought is your next thought at some point in time. — Paul Michael
Do you have free will regarding your thoughts? Well, first notice that your thoughts occur linearly through time in succession. This means that you think your thoughts one at a time, one after another. Thus, every thought is your next thought at some point in time. According to Slattery’s definition of free will, you must always have more than one viable option to choose between for your next thought in order to have free will regarding your thoughts. However, it’s never possible for you to have more than one viable option to choose between for your next thought. — Paul Michael
According to Slattery’s definition of free will, you must always have more than one viable option to choose between for your next thought in order to have free will regarding your thoughts. However, it’s never possible for you to have more than one viable option to choose between for your next thought. — Paul Michael
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