Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Free Will?

'm currently trying to develop my ideas as a Stoic and I've been thinking a lot about the issue of free will and personal responsibility. My personal belief is that very little of what happens to us is under our control. Even on an entirely materialist view, we are just one cause amongst an infinite number in the universe. The Stoic argument is that everything in the universe is caused (or the world would be entirely unintelligible), and therefore that everything that happens is an inevitable result of its causes. Everything that occurs is therefore fated and inevitable.

While I agree with this argument to some extent, I have found that it reaches uncomfortable conclusions if pushed to its logical extremes. On a modern view, our thought processes are physical, a result of the firing of neurons in the brain. As a physical process, thought is a result of its causes... and therefore inevitable. Thus, we have no control over what we think.

At this point I had to give up my contemplation, as it literally hurt my head to think that I might not be in control of my thoughts. It felt like one step away from madness.

To help me develop my ideas, I was wondering what other people's views are on free will and personal responsibilty? What are the philosophical/psychological arguments that back up your beliefs? I know this is a HUGE topic, and if it needs to be narrowed down, I am particularly interested in how far we are in control of what goes on in our own heads.

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