Monday, July 23, 2012

on free will

(image by Fiona Rae)

two somewhat pertinent quotes from my book:

"Refusing to believe in chance is the most subtle, & perhaps the least pernicious, form of denial. But who is there can believe in neither chance nor necessity?"

"My doctrine of Moments of Choosing: humans don't have free will except at long intervals & for brief moments, & they mostly let them go by; but for that time, it is possible to make a more free or less free choice, with ramifying consequences thereafter. Thus it is wisdom to develop sensitivity toward such moments, & to learn what to do with them while they are here."

actually, rather than quibble at all, i can today only marvel at people's readiness to plunge into sides-taking in any discussion whatsoever without defining the key terms: almost as if doing so, would invalidate the heroism of the plunge. (but then, where would philosophy be?)

perhaps they would only discover, that even though these words cannot be defined, we're still unwilling to give them up.

which is something, after all, to know.

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