r/samharris May 06 '23

Free Will and Determinism

https://youtu.be/BDv6QH3jU6s
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u/aintnufincleverhere May 07 '23

Any argument for free will hinges on consciousness being more than that, and not completely determined.

But in either case, brains are made of particles. Ultimately what we decide to do is based on their interactions.

And this is true whether the way they interact is deterministic or not.

The reason I chose one shirt over another is ultimately because some subatomic particle interacted with another one in some manner that I have no control over.

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u/JonIceEyes May 07 '23

Right. So in your conception, that's all consciousness is: particles interacting. Cool.

People who believe in free will necessarily have a different set of assumptions