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Does free will exist, or are our choices predetermined by prior causes?

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12 minutes ago, SocratesJr said:

Do Libet's experiments undermine your confidence in the concept of free-will?

 

Not really.

One thing to note is that free will could be attributed to a whole mind, even if various parts of a mind participate in that free will by setting in motion a choice prior to other parts experiencing that choice has been made.  The intention to make a choice precedes both the perceived initiation of the exercise of choosing and the introspection of the time of having made it.. plus the exercise of choice although overseen by consciousness is often self experienced as spontaneously arising.  This is consistent with an initiation of  choosing, followed by actual choice somehow... some gestalt of factors... followed by a slightly delayed experience of having decided.

It's fun to think about.

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He speaks to the separate aspects of the intellect from a much less than a hard materialist frame. I’ve haven’t read any of his books , but I’ve seen him speak about his ideas around the division and interactions between the hemispheres of the brain and the interplay between the characteristics of each.

I believe his first most talked about book was “The Master and His Emissary “ 

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