Is free will a real thing, or is it not?
Statists like to believe in free will because that way they can feel OK with imprisoning and murdering people for the crimes they commit. Even many statists who admit they don't believe in free will say that to govern they have to pretend it exists-- otherwise, no one could really be accountable for his actions; they are predetermined. I see that as a cop-out.
People who view the Universe as deterministic-- where each particle interaction affects other particle motions in ways which are predictable according to the laws of physics-- mostly believe free will is an illusion.
I believe they are forgetting a critical branch of physics.
Quantum physics, with its fuzziness and indeterminacy, seems (to me) to leave room for free will.
So, yes, I believe in free will, even while acknowledging that the laws of the Universe acting on every atom in our bodies (including in our brains) can push us toward certain actions. Embrace your quantumness and reject archation. You do have the choice.
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Reminder: I could really use some help, but you have free will in the matter.
Kent, that is highly perceptive.
ReplyDeleteRecommended: Liberty, Dicta and Force, by Louis Carabini; look for it 0n mises.org. It powerfully makes a comparable point.
Actually, I ordered that book on your recommendation last week. I got it Friday but haven't yet had a chance to read it.
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