RE: A thing about religious (and other) people and the illusion of free will
November 10, 2023 at 3:01 pm
Well, I just had a thought...even if free will did exist, are we really that free?
I mean, some countries might allow freedom politically, but technically, as I may have said before, people may have an allegiance or devotion or other things to a supreme being that does not exist or a person, like that of a famous person to a powerful person to someone that is known by a person that they trust. In fact, some people may follow said people to a fault, that they will go by their word instead of forming their own. And we have behaviors and emotions, among other things in the human mind that may make it hard to choose the right thing, or make rational choices or make good ones, and may even create conflict for people determining choices.
So, if free will did exist, would people who follow what others say without forming their own opinion; possibly no matter what; qualify for having free will if they do something in another person's interest rather than their own?
And if free will existed, would the mind really allow for it at all? I ask because I think how the mind works would rather prevent and restrict free will than actually allowing for people to make their own choices in a complete way.
There is a lot we don't understand about the mind, and many people, mainly average people know less than scientists with expertise on the mind, but I do not think free will, like many things, is that simple of a concept, as in not just allowing one to simply choose things, and I think it is more complicated than people think, and I see it as complicated in a way that it is too heavily restricted to exist, if it even does exist rather than as an illusion.
That said, I do think following others and/or even a supreme being would restrict or impede a person's free will if they are so heavily devoted to them.
I mean, some countries might allow freedom politically, but technically, as I may have said before, people may have an allegiance or devotion or other things to a supreme being that does not exist or a person, like that of a famous person to a powerful person to someone that is known by a person that they trust. In fact, some people may follow said people to a fault, that they will go by their word instead of forming their own. And we have behaviors and emotions, among other things in the human mind that may make it hard to choose the right thing, or make rational choices or make good ones, and may even create conflict for people determining choices.
So, if free will did exist, would people who follow what others say without forming their own opinion; possibly no matter what; qualify for having free will if they do something in another person's interest rather than their own?
And if free will existed, would the mind really allow for it at all? I ask because I think how the mind works would rather prevent and restrict free will than actually allowing for people to make their own choices in a complete way.
There is a lot we don't understand about the mind, and many people, mainly average people know less than scientists with expertise on the mind, but I do not think free will, like many things, is that simple of a concept, as in not just allowing one to simply choose things, and I think it is more complicated than people think, and I see it as complicated in a way that it is too heavily restricted to exist, if it even does exist rather than as an illusion.
That said, I do think following others and/or even a supreme being would restrict or impede a person's free will if they are so heavily devoted to them.
