Determinism and free will | Raymond Tallis

Raymond Tallis examines whether personal choice and free will exist.

We are constantly inundated with choices, from what to have for dinner to what to do with our lives. But are we really free to decide, or is choice just an illusion? Cultural critic and philosopher Raymond Tallis unpicks the arguments against the existence of free will.

Professor Raymond Tallis is a philosopher, poet, novelist and cultural critic and was until recently a physician and clinical scientist. In the Economist's Intelligent Life Magazine (2009) he was listed as one of the top living polymaths in the world.

#determinism #freewill #biodeterminism

Physician, philosopher, poet and novelist Raymond Tallis is ‘one of the world’s greatest living polymaths’ (Intelligent Life) and the author of Not Saussure, The Pursuit of Mind, and The Kingdom of Infinite Space. He is Emeritus Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Manchester, and much of his philosophical writing has been informed by his medical expertise.

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[stephenlawrence]

I think we need to start with what free will is. We know it's about having a choice. In other words having options we can select. And looking back it's about the ability to have selected options we didn't select. The wrongdoer could have done what he should have done.
What people generally believe is the wrongdoer could have selected a different option in a way incompatible with determinsm. The belief is in 2 parts.

Firstly the belief is we could have done otherwise in the actual circumstances with exactly the same past prior to the choice.
Secondly this gives the impression that we could have done otherwise without the need for unchosen circumstances which had nothing to do with us whatsoever to have been different.

That's the free will which is impossible.

[DavidGP]

Oh my god, what a deplorably ill-guided piece about free will. This man obviously has not even understood, or studied, the very basics of the subject, starting for example with Schopenhauers legendary take on the non-existence of free will! Very sad case here.

[Musshi]

Isn’t reason also a product of events preceding? The goals I create were determined. Me following through with those goals is determined. Where is there the freedom of choice within that framework?

[mycount]

Hand movement like any complex set of decisions can be divided into simpler and simpler decisions all being made by the brain.

[mycount]

He does not explain how to break the cause and effect sequence started at the big bang.

[nivekvb]

The fact that we struggle shows we have a little bit of free will. We see what we need, or want, and then very often we will need to struggle to get it, or achieve something. In effect, we make our future. The future does not just unfold before us. It is said that we have no choice but to do what we do, and yes, that's true, but it doesn't alter the fact that we try very hard to alter our future, and without that effort, our future would be very different.

Is the future set in stone by the laws of physics, well, yes, but our will is part of physics, and this will shapes the future. Very often the struggle is enormous, where it takes a lot of work, effort, and will power to shape our future.

I can see how we have free spirits, but free will is like, is it a vase or a face, well, it's both, which is why no one can answer the question? But our determination comes from our free spirit. We have free spirits because we are alive. All animals are free. We are supra/ above the laws of physics.

I know this does not answer the question, but it's answered by intuition rather than intellect.

[mycount]

The conscious mind rationalizes unconscious decisions.

[brockandersen]

In reference to the last 3 minutes of the video - We can neither choose which justifications occur to us, nor can we choose which justifications feel sufficient to us. Our brains will causally generate justifications in response to considering an action; and which justifications appeal to us at the moment depends on several factors (mood, upbringing, genetics, etc.).

[Willardandhiswiener]

Will, Drive, Desire and Motivation (WDDM) share the same meaning. Choosing and deciding are determined by the strength and intensity of your WDDM to experience PLEASURE (the Purpose of Life); therefore, choosing and deciding are not 'freely willed': they are solely determined by – not free of, or free from – your WDDM to experience PLEASURE. It is not WDDM that is free or unfree; it is the PHYSICAL MOVEMENT caused and compelled by WDDM that is free or unfree. As puppets or marionettes are compelled (or 'willed') to MOVE by strings attached to their limbs, humans are INSTINCTUALLY compelled to MOVE by WDDM. We are 'Pleasure Puppets' in the Puppet Show of Life

[MarkoKraguljac]

He is beating a dead horse.
It would be more interesting and valuable to explore (immense) importance of illusory free will in social ordering and justification of things as they are (status quo).
How could we facilitate a more peaceful and prosperous society by revealing the truth?
What are obstacles for critical mass of people to really understand that there are no "saints" and "sinners", "deserving" and "undeserving", that life is something that happens to all of us?
Is it beyond our reach as a community (which structurally and existentially depends on majority not being aware)?

[Robinson]

Determinism is a theory, an approximation of nature, and free will and consciousness is your actual experience. Pick your poison which you think is more real...