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From: brianc@daedalus (Brian Colfer)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Free will and responsibility.
Summary: Libertarianism = Existentialism
Keywords: Libertarianism, behaviorism , existentialism
Message-ID: <2008@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu>
Date: 1 Jun 89 06:40:12 GMT
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Reply-To: brianc@daedalus.UUCP (Brian Colfer)
Organization: UCSF Dept. of Lab Med
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In article <32091@sri-unix.SRI.COM> ellis@chips2.sri.com.UUCP (Michael Ellis) writes:
>     Just how does a tie-breaking random number generator count as making
>     a radically free choice, one that is authentically one's own, not 
>     determined by the the whims or constraints of another being?
>

This is at least similar to Sartre's position:  either every action
is free or every action is determined.  His contention is that you are 
ultimately responsible for every action that you take.  Michael, do you 
think that a libertarian like your self is essentially a radical 
exsistentialist?

>> Barry Kort
>>..Are you now convinced that at least one living mind is not completely
>>determined?  (Feel free to be reasonable, if you so choose.)

Michael is unimpressed and so am I for obviously different reasons.
When I was an undergraduate many years ago my Prof. Kirk Gable told me that
my concerns about free will were fundamentally a waste of time.  One of
his reasons were that if behaviorism works as an acurate model for how we
live our lives and proves useful for helping people in education, mental 
health and other similar endevours then who cares about free will.
Well, in a sense he's right but I always enjoy discussions about the 
fundamental nature of humanity.  
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