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From: DB Cates <cates_db@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: talk.origins
Subject: Re: Making your mind up
Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2024 16:29:20 -0500
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On 2024-04-05 11:05 AM, Martin Harran wrote:
> There was quite an interesting discussion a few weeks ago on Free Will
> vs Determinism but it died a death, at least in part due to the
> departure of some contributors to the Land Beyond GG. I'd like to take
> up some of the issues again if anyone is interested.
> 
> One point made by Hemidactylus that didn't get developed any further
> was the way that we sometimes give a lot of time and effort into
> making a decision - he gave the example of buying a car. It's also
> common for someone to want to "sleep it on it" before making a
> decision where the decision is important but it is not clear what
> decision is best. If a decision is essentially predetermined then what
> is the point of that time and effort or sleeping on it?

Do you not see that this argument depends on the belief that there was
an *option* to make the decision earlier under different conditions
(lack of 'thinking it over' and/or 'sleeping on it'). IOW that free will
exists. You are 'begging the question'.
> 
> Tied in with that is our ability to change our minds after we have
> made a decision - has determinism some convoluted way of working that
> predetermines what way we will make a decision but also predetermins
> that we will change it?

Having made a decision plus time (other things happening) have changed
the environment, so why not a different decision being determined?
> 
> A reminder that in the Libet experiments so beloved of determinists,
> there was no precursor activity found in regard to making *major*
> decisions or changing one's mind so how does that fit in?
> 
I personally don't think those experiments have much to say about it one 
way or the other.

-- 
--
Don Cates ("he's a cunning rascal" PN)