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Path: utzoo!laura
From: laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: freedom and reason (attn russ, rich, & laura)
Message-ID: <5238@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 14-Mar-85 10:33:48 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.5238
Posted: Thu Mar 14 10:33:48 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 14-Mar-85 10:33:48 EST
References: <835@wucs.UUCP>, <689@pyuxd.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 23

3 points...

1. It doesn't do any good to say ``a soul gives me free will''. Where
   did the soul get it? At some point you will have to say ``just because
   it did''. WHy is the soul level to be preferred over the body level?
	
   (if you have evidence for the existence of souls, this could be a very good
    reason, of course.)

2. If you are using what you believe or what you feel as a tool for reasoning,
   then it does not follow that you are not reasoning. Your conclusions may
   be lousy, however.

3. Schopenhauer may not be the last word on the subject. There are a good
   many schools of self-help, meditation, hypnosis and so on which
   expressly try to change what you want. saying ``well, they couldn't
   change that you wanted to change your wants'' doesn't work -- some
   competing schools try to undo what you had done somewhere else.
   You do have evidence that people stick with certain decisions or
   beliefs, but that is not sufficient.

Laura Creighton
utzoo!laura