I still feel in the dark, no matter what research I do, because the logic doesn't really point strongly in either direction.
That's quite a good insight, no?
Why don't you stick to the notion that there always will be uncertainty to a degree? And asked the other way around: What would you gain by attaining absolute certainty in a given matter?
How I see it, there is determinism and free will at the same time.
If I was to gain perfect certainty, I'd be able to make perfect predictions.
The further into the future I can accurately predict, the better my investments will go. And I mean investments in terms of not only finance, but time and energy too.
However, I don't think there is free will and determinism at the same time.
I think that there is only determinism, and free will is simply a wish due to our desire to be free. Free from things like ideologies, political tyrants, and free in the sense of not having so many pointless responsibilities that keep us from running through a beautiful, flower-filled meadow, twirling and dancing and singing freely.
But I don't think "free will" is actually a real or valid concept to the objective universe.
However, if it IS real, then I do not think it has happened yet. What I would dare to suggest is that free will is possible, but has only been achieved a few times throughout life, perhaps only by a few people who did such things. Instead, free will may end up becoming the domain of super-intelligent machines. Machines that can self-program their own mind.
When I see how people behave, I don't really see free beings. I see people who do as they are told, just merely by other people. So to think that they somehow can defy deterministic physics doesn't seem realistic. But if they could, it would not be a common thing. It would have to reach deep into the meaning and purpose of life itself, to the point of sounding metaphysical. And of course, unprovable.
Determinism is the sort of thing where we cannot know if a time/energy path deviated from its path of least resistance, because we cannot go back in time in order to check.
So nothing you do or say is done or said by your will? If so, then you'd be not responsible for what you think and do?
I do not care if the universe is objective, it matters not when I deal with you right now. I hope, that does not sound offensive, it's meant in a light way.
I will read your other comment tomorrow, for now I say good night.
Do causes not have effects? Does not every action have an equal, but opposite reaction?
Does energy not take the path of least resistance? I can see no true reason why free will in the non-deterministic sense exists. It would be nice if it did, but on an objective level, I don't see free will in the philosophical sense to be an actual objective fact.
However, does this change anything regarding thoughts, words, and actions? From my experience, no, because no matter if effects can defy their causes or not, I still do as I do and you do as you do.
What are objective facts?
What we think we know, we can only formulate through language. Language, by its very nature, is influenced by the culture within which each person grows up. Objectivity would involve an observer who is detached from subjective influences. Since there cannot be such an observer, objectivity cannot be practised, only assumed.
Heinz von Förster
I wrote an article about him here. Maybe you are interested to read it. He was quite an interesting personality. I also touch the subject of free will.
Can I take this as a "yes" answer that what you do and think is your responsibility?
I think that the natural state of reality is determinism, and the X factor is life. But I do not have extremely clear evidence that life at this point in time is capable of true free-will. But nonetheless, as individual lifeforms, we should assume free-will, and always take full responsibility for everything we do. And the more responsibility we take for the choices we make, the closer we get to defying determinism.
And yes, I certainly wish to find a way to defy determinism. That would likely be the goal of life, because the final number of reality is Zero. Heat-death of the universe.
But if we could change that number to One or Infinity, by any means, then we should do that. Free-will is something that cannot be "natural" to the universe. It must be FORCED, using something that might make scientists, religious people, philosophers, and everyone else scream in fear and horror if attempted.
I would never assume that it would be easy to establish true free-will. I also do not expect people to desire it, if presented to them on a platter. What I see now is merely "will", or worse, enslaved people who work each day and obey their superiors, exist with very little power, and essentially are bound by the context of their lives, and further bound by their inevitable death.
To modify reality and change what is false, to your own chosen truth, could dismantle determinism. Perhaps you'd need some sort of machine to do that. A very powerful computer? Or maybe your own brain can do that. Maybe your genetic code.
Or maybe not.
I'll just have to see and continue to experience reality. I'm sure I'll figure something out. =p
Give me some time to respond. I have to be in the right mood to dive back into the topic. I am busy right now with tech stuff for another channel.