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From: rjf@ukc.ac.uk (Robin Faichney)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: [David E Demers: Re: free will]
Message-ID: <1842@harrier.ukc.ac.uk>
Date: 18 Jul 89 16:23:28 GMT
References: <334@ucl-cs.UUCP> <425@berlioz.nsc.com>
Reply-To: rjf@ukc.ac.uk (Robin Faichney)
Organization: Computing Lab, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.
Lines: 22

In article <425@berlioz.nsc.com> andrew@berlioz (Lord Snooty @ The Giant Poisoned Electric Head ) writes:
>[..]
>I coincidentally just caught a line from the group "Yes" (I think) which
>goes:	"Then I will choose free will".
>
>While I am not suggesting that pop contains any deep truisms (or not), when
>I heard this I wondered ..

In my humble opinion, some Yes lyrics can be quite profound.  As in (my
interpretation of) this case.  What if the intended meaning is "Then I
will choose to believe in free will"?  Seems to me that is both the
most down-to-earth and the most positive position that can be taken on
this issue.  And the Yes version is a very nice, if slightly subtle,
way of putting it.  It is an Occams Razor to cut a Gordian Knot.  Just
because something cannot be proven, is no reason not to believe in it.

On the other hand, maybe Yes just like recording silly truisms.  (Though
somehow I don't think Andrew believes that.)

I say, if you want to preserve your Knots, don't listen to Yes (or me :-)

Robin