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From: aeq@pucc-h (Jeff Sargent)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy,net.religion
Subject: Re: More levels of explanation and definitions of free
Message-ID: <2145@pucc-h>
Date: Thu, 25-Jul-85 00:58:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: pucc-h.2145
Posted: Thu Jul 25 00:58:30 1985
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From Rich Rosen (pyuxd!rlr):

> But I *want* to want to like apricots....  If I am really determined,
> I suppose I could learn to want to like them, and then eventually want to
> like them, and then maybe even like them.  But the fact that I am unable
> to want to want to do this thing, implies something about human brain
> function that seems to bode ill for any notion of free will.

I think you got a bit confused on how many levels of wanting you were talking
about; note that the first and last sentence contradict each other.

I am only responding to this article at all because that phrase "want to want"
caught my eye; it has played its part (and may well do so many times again) in
my growth as a Christian (and hence, as a human being).  In years past, I
indeed wanted to want, say, to care about other human beings; I knew it was
a good thing, but despite that, it was hard to make the emotional commitment
to remove that level of indirection, i.e. to manage just to want to care, and
then to manage to actually care (which I have begun to do but am certainly not
expert at yet).  It can be done.  Of course, it is a matter of getting rid of
whatever within us prevents us from doing what we want to want (i.e. really
want) to do; in my experience, this is chiefly past emotional hurts and
perhaps their festering consequences (e.g. resentment or guilt).

It is possible that your distaste for apricots is indeed biochemical; they
may in fact disagree with your body.  But I doubt that the fact that years ago
I was unable to care for people, and now I have begun to be able to, can be
explained on strictly biochemical grounds.

-- 
-- Jeff Sargent
{decvax|harpo|ihnp4|inuxc|ucbvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h!aeq
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  (James 5:16)
The prayer of a not-so-righteous man availeth sometimes....  (Rich McDaniel)