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From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy,net.religion
Subject: Re: More levels of explanation and definitions of free
Message-ID: <1276@pyuxd.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 21-Jul-85 22:40:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxd.1276
Posted: Sun Jul 21 22:40:30 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 24-Jul-85 20:58:26 EDT
References: <6156@umcp-cs.UUCP> <1041@pyuxd.UUCP> <3@umcp-cs.UUCP> <1212@pyuxd.UUCP> <360@oliven.UUCP> <1249@pyuxd.UUCP> <363@oliven.UUCP>
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Xref: watmath net.philosophy:2091 net.religion:7263

>>> First of all, if a person's development has provided the capacity  for
>>> "rational  evaluative  analysis"  then  that person has the ability to
>>> decide HOW past influences will  affect  him/her  now.  If  you  don't
>>> believe  me,  then  just think about the last time you chose to change
>>> the way you react to something. [PEASE]

>>I'm trying to like apricots, but I find I just can't, no matter how much
>>I try to want to...  (Insert that Schopenhauer quote here.) [ROSEN]

> Thats okay, Rich.  Its taken me 15 years to be able to eat cheese  and
> keep it down.  Just means that you have your work cut out for you :-).
> Seriously, though, if you are really determined to change yor reaction
> to  something, you can.  Could it be that try as you might, you really
> don't WANT to like apricots?  You can't make changes  in  yourself  if
> there is an internal conflict concerning the changes.  [PEASE]

But I *want* to want to like apricots.  It would be real neat, I mean, if
the corner store had only apricots on a snowy day, I wouldn't go hungry,
but I can't get myself to even want to like them.  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.
-- 
"Because love grows where my Rosemary goes and nobody knows but me."
						Rich Rosen   pyuxd!rlr