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Scientist, after decades of study, concludes: We don't have free will (phys.org)

submitted 10 months ago by btp@kbin.social to c/science@kbin.social

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Before epilepsy was understood to be a neurological condition, people believed it was caused by the moon, or by phlegm in the brain. They condemned seizures as evidence of witchcraft or demonic possession, and killed or castrated sufferers to prevent them from passing tainted blood to a new generation.

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[–] palordrolap@kbin.social 8 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Whether or not we have free will and whether this whole existence is pre-calculated, I'm going to go all meta-Pascal's wager on it and suggest that we try to act like we do have free will and try not to think about it.

Maybe I was always going to come to that conclusion. Doesn't matter.

Maybe this makes about as much sense as Wile E. Coyote staying in the air until he actually realises he has run off a cliff. Doesn't matter.

Be the Road-Runner able to run into a painting of a tunnel as if it is real and remain as happy as possible about it.

meep-meep

[–] EmptyRadar@kbin.social 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yep. On the grand scale it doesn't matter if this comment was pre-determined or if I genuinely made the free choice to write it. What matters is that, to me, the illusion of free will is complete. There is nothing other than my belief that I am free to affect my own existence.

As Rush once said, even if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

[–] billothekid2@kbin.social 2 points 10 months ago

Thanks for referencing Rush so I didn't have to. Lol