
Mainlander
Free will is an illusion
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- Aug 29, 2024
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This could serve as the beginning of my philosophical book if I ever decide to write it. Its not a fixed start that Im completely committed to just a possibility
it would be about
Determinism/free will
Lookism / Blackpill
Rest im not sure yet
In truth, the only time you are, you belong to forces not your own
An unfree soul , yet named free
It shaped your face before you knew
It filled your mind without consent
It planted fear and desire deep inside
decided if you are in hell or heaven
And still, the word “free” is spoken
If you believe these words, or if you reject them
are both are proof of one truth:
you are not free.
Your choice to accept or deny
was never truly yours.
All this leads to one inevitable question:
Do we truly have free will?
Anyone who seriously examines the nature of free will will quickly arrive at a surprising conclusion:
it is not freedom that guides us, but a chain of causes that shape and determine who we are.
This realization is known as Determinism, and I embrace hard determinism in the tradition of Spinoza
THE PHILOSPHY OF DETERMINISM
Determinism is the idea that everything that happens every thought, feeling, and action is the inevitable
result of preceding causes. Nothing occurs randomly or by chance. Instead, the universe follows a chain of cause and effect,
a vast network of influences stretching back infinitely
From the moment you were born , even before countless factors shaped who you are: your genetics,
your environment, your upbringing, and the countless experiences that formed your mind and character to this day
Each of these is itself caused by previous conditions, and so on
Because of this unbroken chain, the concept of “free will” becomes questionable
If every choice you make is the outcome of prior causes beyond your control, can you truly be said to have free will
Most people, after hearing this, will not be convinced that they are truly unfree.
Many will point to compatibilism the idea that free will can exist even within a deterministic universe.
They argue: yes, genetics, parents, and upbringing shape us, but within these constraints, we still make choices.
The idea of “freedom within limits” is widely accepted, but it overlooks the powerful forces influencing not only our circumstances but also our choices
As Schopenhauer said, “A man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills.”
A EXAMPLE TO UNDERSTAND DETERMINISM
A good way to understand determinism is to imagine a ball at the top of a platform.
Someone gives it a push this push is the first cause , like your Birth
The ball begins to roll down, and on its wa it hits obstacles bumps and slopes along the way.
Sometimes it speeds up, sometimes it slows down, and sometimes it changes direction.
At first, it might look like the ball moves randomly.
But if we knew everything the strength of the push, the shape of the surface, the ball’s weight, the force of gravity , the force of the wind
we could predict exactly where it will go, how fast it will roll, and where it will stop.
Nothing the ball does is truly random. Every movement comes from the initial push and the conditions it meets along the way.
In the same way, our lives seem full of choices and surprises.
But just like the ball, we are shaped by the things that pushed us
our genes, our childhood, our environment, and our experiences.
Even the way we think and feel was shaped by causes that came before.
This is what determinism means nothing happens without a reason, and everything that happens could not have happened differently
The difference between this example and human life is not one of principle,
but of complexity
HUMAN EXAMPLE OF DETERMINISM
Imagine a child standing in front of an ice cream counter with many flavors to choose from
chocolate or vanilla
The child pauses considers the options, and finally chooses chocolate
At first glance it seems like a simple free choice made by the child
But determinism says the choice wasn’t really free. Instead, it was caused by many things that happened before.
the child chose chocolate because of past experiences, habits, or influences
The child has tried chocolate ice cream before and liked it while he didnt with vanilla
Whether the child likes chocolate more than other flavors depends partly on biology
Our brains respond to certain tastes, like sweet and fatty flavors, because they release chemicals that make us feel good like dopamine, a reward signal in the brain
This past experience shapes what the child wants now
The brain remembers the taste and the feeling of enjoyment
These biological reactions create a preference for chocolate making it feel more desirable than other options
Because of these experiences and biological impulses, the child’s choice is guided by what the brain expects to be enjoyable
not by free will.
NO ONE WILL READ THIS IK but @Skullmaxxer asked me to do it
@InanimatePragmatist @iblamexyz
it would be about
Determinism/free will
Lookism / Blackpill
Rest im not sure yet
In truth, the only time you are, you belong to forces not your own
An unfree soul , yet named free
It shaped your face before you knew
It filled your mind without consent
It planted fear and desire deep inside
decided if you are in hell or heaven
And still, the word “free” is spoken
If you believe these words, or if you reject them
are both are proof of one truth:
you are not free.
Your choice to accept or deny
was never truly yours.
All this leads to one inevitable question:
Do we truly have free will?
Anyone who seriously examines the nature of free will will quickly arrive at a surprising conclusion:
it is not freedom that guides us, but a chain of causes that shape and determine who we are.
This realization is known as Determinism, and I embrace hard determinism in the tradition of Spinoza
THE PHILOSPHY OF DETERMINISM
Determinism is the idea that everything that happens every thought, feeling, and action is the inevitable
result of preceding causes. Nothing occurs randomly or by chance. Instead, the universe follows a chain of cause and effect,
a vast network of influences stretching back infinitely
From the moment you were born , even before countless factors shaped who you are: your genetics,
your environment, your upbringing, and the countless experiences that formed your mind and character to this day
Each of these is itself caused by previous conditions, and so on
Because of this unbroken chain, the concept of “free will” becomes questionable
If every choice you make is the outcome of prior causes beyond your control, can you truly be said to have free will
Most people, after hearing this, will not be convinced that they are truly unfree.
Many will point to compatibilism the idea that free will can exist even within a deterministic universe.
They argue: yes, genetics, parents, and upbringing shape us, but within these constraints, we still make choices.
The idea of “freedom within limits” is widely accepted, but it overlooks the powerful forces influencing not only our circumstances but also our choices
As Schopenhauer said, “A man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills.”
A EXAMPLE TO UNDERSTAND DETERMINISM
A good way to understand determinism is to imagine a ball at the top of a platform.
Someone gives it a push this push is the first cause , like your Birth
The ball begins to roll down, and on its wa it hits obstacles bumps and slopes along the way.
Sometimes it speeds up, sometimes it slows down, and sometimes it changes direction.
At first, it might look like the ball moves randomly.
But if we knew everything the strength of the push, the shape of the surface, the ball’s weight, the force of gravity , the force of the wind
we could predict exactly where it will go, how fast it will roll, and where it will stop.
Nothing the ball does is truly random. Every movement comes from the initial push and the conditions it meets along the way.
In the same way, our lives seem full of choices and surprises.
But just like the ball, we are shaped by the things that pushed us
our genes, our childhood, our environment, and our experiences.
Even the way we think and feel was shaped by causes that came before.
This is what determinism means nothing happens without a reason, and everything that happens could not have happened differently
The difference between this example and human life is not one of principle,
but of complexity
HUMAN EXAMPLE OF DETERMINISM
Imagine a child standing in front of an ice cream counter with many flavors to choose from
chocolate or vanilla
The child pauses considers the options, and finally chooses chocolate
At first glance it seems like a simple free choice made by the child
But determinism says the choice wasn’t really free. Instead, it was caused by many things that happened before.
the child chose chocolate because of past experiences, habits, or influences
The child has tried chocolate ice cream before and liked it while he didnt with vanilla
Whether the child likes chocolate more than other flavors depends partly on biology
Our brains respond to certain tastes, like sweet and fatty flavors, because they release chemicals that make us feel good like dopamine, a reward signal in the brain
This past experience shapes what the child wants now
The brain remembers the taste and the feeling of enjoyment
These biological reactions create a preference for chocolate making it feel more desirable than other options
Because of these experiences and biological impulses, the child’s choice is guided by what the brain expects to be enjoyable
not by free will.
NO ONE WILL READ THIS IK but @Skullmaxxer asked me to do it
@InanimatePragmatist @iblamexyz
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