For the record, free will is an illusion. You affirm this when you state, "we can't choose who we're attracted to; but you know what, nobody can", and "I don't think I could have chosen to fall in love with anyone other than my partner", and "It would have made me miserable; and that's why I didn't do it." Duh... who ever chooses miserable over not miserable? Every human is a pleasure seeking / pain avoiding organic machine.
You state, "although our range of choices may be restricted it is not eliminated", to which I ask you how much is not eliminated? .0000001%? .000000000001%? Just how much are you proposing is not eliminated?
Choice! No question we make choices, the thing is we don't make them freely. We choose based upon a priori criteria and it’s from those criteria that selection is made, and thus choices are in no way made freely. To come up with a different choice one would have to have a different set of criteria, which one of course does not have. (At the time of choosing one only has that one set of criteria.)
Free will is an illusion. “We are fighting for the right to make *that* choice and to have that choice respected." Well you already have claimed that you could not have made any other choice, you have stated that you have followed the one and only course that you could have chosen. What you are really fighting for is the right to not be penalized for doing what it is that you had to do.
Please make up your mind... (wink)
For the record, free will is an illusion. You affirm this when you state, "we can't choose who we're attracted to; but you know what, nobody can", and "I don't think I could have chosen to fall in love with anyone other than my partner", and "It would have made me miserable; and that's why I didn't do it." Duh... who ever chooses miserable over not miserable? Every human is a pleasure seeking / pain avoiding organic machine.
You state, "although our range of choices may be restricted it is not eliminated", to which I ask you how much is not eliminated? .0000001%? .000000000001%? Just how much are you proposing is not eliminated?
Choice! No question we make choices, the thing is we don't make them freely. We choose based upon a priori criteria and it’s from those criteria that selection is made, and thus choices are in no way made freely. To come up with a different choice one would have to have a different set of criteria, which one of course does not have. (At the time of choosing one only has that one set of criteria.)
Free will is an illusion. “We are fighting for the right to make *that* choice and to have that choice respected." Well you already have claimed that you could not have made any other choice, you have stated that you have followed the one and only course that you could have chosen. What you are really fighting for is the right to not be penalized for doing what it is that you had to do.
Philosopherknight at gmail.com