Do you think you have free will?

[DaveB]

Eh?

I dunno about that.

But I do know about kittens and knitting.

Thats all right love, you just run along and pop the kettle on. We don't want you getting all confused and fogetting how to work the oven do we.

[MaryPoppins]

Thats all right love, you just run along and pop the kettle on. We don't want you getting all confused and fogetting how to work the oven do we.

Did I forget to mention that I am still capable of kicking your bum?

[Mich the Tester]

Did I forget to mention that I am still capable of kicking your bum?

WOMEN! Do not try philosophy; it will frazzle your pretty little heads!

Mind you, Hypatia was quite good at it.

[Gibbon]

I have a Free Willy, it doesn't whatever it wants without consulting me

[DaveB]

WOMEN! Do not try philosophy; it will frazzle your pretty little heads!

Mind you, Hypatia was quite good at it.

Given that we already know MP is capable of simultaneously raising a child, holding down a contract, dealing with an arse of an ex and fending off HMRC, I am perfectly willing to accept that she could add kicking my arse to that list without even blinking and that philosophy is something she doesnt bother with cos it presents no challenge

[MaryPoppins]

WOMEN! Do not try philosophy; it will frazzle your pretty little heads!

Mind you, Hypatia was quite good at it.

philosophy schmilosophy

[sasguru]

Mind you, Hypatia was quite good at it.

yeah and a fat lot of good it did her.
Having struggled through "The Emperors New Mind" a few years ago - I agree with Penrose's view that there is something missing in our physical knowledge that might explain conciousness and free will and matters of that ilk.
Now that quantum theory has introduced uncertainty into the previously held clockwork view of the universe, perhaps there is something there that may explain free will - it could be that what we call free-will is merely a probabilistic phenomenon i.e. our choices are random.

[TimberWolf]

yeah and a fat lot of good it did her.
Having struggled through "The Emperors New Mind" a few years ago - I agree with Penrose's view that there is something missing in our physical knowledge that might explain conciousness and free will and matters of that ilk.
Now that quantum theory has introduced uncertainty into the previously held clockwork view of the universe, perhaps there is something there that may explain free will - it could be that what we call free-will is merely a probabilistic phenomenon i.e. our choices are random.

Where does randomness come from though?

[SizeZero]

"AndyW could do whatever he liked"

Until they crushed that freewill with a mighty Banhammer.

[Mich the Tester]

Where does randomness come from though?

I’m struggling to describe my thoughts on this but I have a feeling ‘random’ doesn’t really exist, but actually something which is the result of entropy may appear random while still obeying certain rules.

Sort of, erm, innit.