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From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Cohesive Unity
Message-ID: <1386@pyuxd.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 2-Aug-85 11:52:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxd.1386
Posted: Fri Aug  2 11:52:31 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 3-Aug-85 10:35:44 EDT
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Organization: Whatever we're calling ourselves this week
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>>> A cause of behavior is not strictly external if it operates through "man"
>>> and his "volition".  The DIRECT causes of intelligent behavior are INTERNAL
>>> to "man" and "volition", even if those causes have in turn other causes
>>> which are external. [Rich]   <==== actually Paul, but who's counting?

>>However, once you admit that they do... GOTCHA!!  Ain't no "freedom".
>>     {THIS was me -- RLR}

>   I cannot accept this argument, since it appears to require the a priori
>   assumption that the behavior of a complex phenomenon be reductionistically
>   determined by that of its components.
> 
> -michael

Uh, yeah, right.  Let's be sure we know who's assuming what here.  Only in
your little "smash-causality" mindset, in which you ASSUME the existence
of something outside the realm of cause and effect in order to make your
wishes fit, does this make any sense.  Does Michael have an example of
such acausality?  Evidence that it holds in the human brain?  More and
more people (thankfully) seems to be realizing that just because something
appears to be so complex that we cannot understand its inner workings and
make predictions from them, that does NOT mean the innerworkings are "acausal".
It only seems that way to the casual (or causal) observer, especially the
ones who WANT to see that mystical soul or force as part of the conclusion.
Now, who's assuming what?
-- 
"to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day
 to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human
 being can fight and never stop fighting."  - e. e. cummings
	Rich Rosen	ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr