I think you can change the outside world — we've been doing it since the dawn of civilization, and all animals do it too (anthills and whatnot).
And changing ourselves is only a manner of speaking, if determinism is true. A tree does not so much change itself when it grows as it simply changes. So we, too, change according to our combined influences and inheritances. It's something that happens to us, rather than something we do to ourselves.
Well, I don't quite agree. Of course, we change due to the course of time and the experience we have. You used a beautiful metaphor here - like a tree. And most of the time we are not even aware of it.
However, I firmly believe that an individual could consciously change their beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and their view of the world. For me, that is where hope lives :D
It depends how we interpret the words we use. Determinism is definitely true and free will doesn't exist, and this has been proven in both philosophy and science using completely independent tools.
A person will change consciously in the same way he watches a movie consciously or suffers consciously. He might have the illusion of making choices, but those choices are just a result of everything that makes him the person he is. If we imagine the person's brain like a computer, something you can pull out of the skull and place it on a desk in front of you, and give it input, the input will always be reacted to in the same way OR the reactions will be random. There's no middle way, no 'free will' or 'soul' etc. The person will always choose the same depending on who he is and how powerful the external stimuli is.
Our goal as scientists, I think, is to figure out all the deterministic ways in which our minds act, and influence them in the right direction: the right direction being determined in a combination of desire + logic + what everyone thinks and wants + who knows what.
Anyway, it doesn't really have that much import in practice, other than to emphasize that we must (as scientists) always look for the reasons things happen. To say things happened because a person freely chose them is not an explanation, it's the end of an explanation, like saying 'God did it' or 'it was a miracle'. To give an explanation why things happened is to take away free will.
Oh, God, I am dealing with a philosopher here! How didn't I see that coming? Lol :D
So, are you saying that there is no such thing as consciousness?
Well, I doubt that. Yes, of course, we are a result of our past experiences, we respond to the environmental stimuli, as well as we are some kind of a biochemical mess.
But, we can process information consciously, we can be aware of our experiences and we can focus and switch our attention to different stimuli on purpose. For example, when you are exercising hard and you experience a total exhaustion at some point, then you focus on something else than your muscle pain and suddenly you hold it for a little longer.
We take many unconscious decisions but we can make an effort and process the information from both the outside and inner worlds and make a conscious call. I am referring here to Daniel Kahneman's work.
Why wouldn't one suffer consciously? We perceive our pain and we can reflect upon it. Some masterpieces were born in this way, didn't they? For example, K. G. Jung consciously examined his visual and vocal hallucinations for years.
Well, just to buzz you a little. If I believe that God did something and this influences who I am and what I do, doesn't this mean that God actually did it in my inner private world? Isn't it all a matter of individual perception?
Well, yeah, I agree with you, it doesn't really have that much import in practice. Even if our choices are somehow determined by the biochemicals in our bodies, we have the perception of free will and we make choices on a daily basis, we have dilemmas and existential crises. This is the world we live in and we deal with.
No, there definitely is. Though some philosophers admittedly have been silly enough to deny it.
No!
True.
Lol. Oh, that short and frank reply made me laugh :D