Firstly, I think our primary evidence for free will is that we experience it. But it is possible that our experience is mistaken; it has turned out to be wrong in many instances, of which my favorite is that the sun does not move across the sky. There are many others: confirmation bias, etc. This is not a "must be true" claim in the way that cogito ergo sum is. I see the claim of consciousness as a similar "must be true" claim.
The experiments by Libet suggest that actions start before we are conscious of them, and when we do become conscious, we claim ownership.
I do think that there is an intriguing question about life. Life is ordered, and we know that rust and moth doth corrupt, i.e. entropy destroys order. Life can maintain its order only by using the energy from the sun to counteract this. Life IS an order-producing phenomenon. I find this weird. Imagine a river flowing from a high-altitude low-entropy state to the ocean of chaos. Life exists where this flow reverses at some place, like an eddy in the stream. Why is there an order-producing niche in the world? How does this happen? Any physicists care to comment?
The fact that Libet believed in free will may surprise you, because so many determinists use Libet’s experiment to prove the opposite.
Libet died in 2007. I think this just goes to show you how 5 minutes after a person dies, someone will misquote and misuse their life’s work for their own agenda.
(The worst example of this is how Nietzsche wrote about how much he hated German nationalism and anti-semitism, then 5 minutes after he died, his sister turned him into a Nazi hero. Poor guy.)
That is fascinating; thank you. I first heard of Libet in the NYTimes Science Section in ~1988 and was blown away by its implications. The Illusion of Conscious Will, Wegner 2002, does not mention the veto experiment.
One of the quotes the article included was from 1999:
"Determinism has on the whole, worked well for the physical observable world. That has led many scientists and philosophers to regard any deviation from determinism as absurd and witless, and unworthy of consideration. But there has been no evidence, or even a proposed experimental test design, that definitively or convincingly demonstrates the validity of natural law determinism as the mediator or instrument of free will.”
BENJAMIN LIBET DO WE HAVE FREE WILL? JOURNAL OF CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES, 6, NO. 8–9, 1999, PP. 47–57
"But some Existentialists then created the secondary conversation that comes after the initial depression or shock wears off."
I remember the exact moment this happened to my brain.
I would say that freedom from a predetermined purpose, and hence freedom to give meaning to our actions and existence feels like a greater meaning.
Also the contrary, when the reason and meaning to live is predetermined, then it get rid of its meaning because it is predetermined anyway.
A couple of comments.
Firstly, I think our primary evidence for free will is that we experience it. But it is possible that our experience is mistaken; it has turned out to be wrong in many instances, of which my favorite is that the sun does not move across the sky. There are many others: confirmation bias, etc. This is not a "must be true" claim in the way that cogito ergo sum is. I see the claim of consciousness as a similar "must be true" claim.
The experiments by Libet suggest that actions start before we are conscious of them, and when we do become conscious, we claim ownership.
I do think that there is an intriguing question about life. Life is ordered, and we know that rust and moth doth corrupt, i.e. entropy destroys order. Life can maintain its order only by using the energy from the sun to counteract this. Life IS an order-producing phenomenon. I find this weird. Imagine a river flowing from a high-altitude low-entropy state to the ocean of chaos. Life exists where this flow reverses at some place, like an eddy in the stream. Why is there an order-producing niche in the world? How does this happen? Any physicists care to comment?
You might enjoy this article on Libet - who believed his experiment had validated the existence of free will. Or at least “free won’t.”
https://mindmatters.ai/2020/03/how-a-neuroscientist-imaged-free-will-and-free-wont/
https://mindmatters.ai/2020/03/how-libets-free-will-research-is-misrepresented/
The fact that Libet believed in free will may surprise you, because so many determinists use Libet’s experiment to prove the opposite.
Libet died in 2007. I think this just goes to show you how 5 minutes after a person dies, someone will misquote and misuse their life’s work for their own agenda.
(The worst example of this is how Nietzsche wrote about how much he hated German nationalism and anti-semitism, then 5 minutes after he died, his sister turned him into a Nazi hero. Poor guy.)
That is fascinating; thank you. I first heard of Libet in the NYTimes Science Section in ~1988 and was blown away by its implications. The Illusion of Conscious Will, Wegner 2002, does not mention the veto experiment.
One of the quotes the article included was from 1999:
"Determinism has on the whole, worked well for the physical observable world. That has led many scientists and philosophers to regard any deviation from determinism as absurd and witless, and unworthy of consideration. But there has been no evidence, or even a proposed experimental test design, that definitively or convincingly demonstrates the validity of natural law determinism as the mediator or instrument of free will.”
BENJAMIN LIBET DO WE HAVE FREE WILL? JOURNAL OF CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES, 6, NO. 8–9, 1999, PP. 47–57
Someone also shared with me this article last week.
https://pbs.dartmouth.edu/news/2013/03/neuroscientist-says-humans-are-wired-free-will
Great article! Appreciate your perspective.
Amazing content. Joining as a paid subscriber to support the effort!
Thank you!
Welcome! Thanks!