I can type a reply or not type one: In a way, I can find out what I will do. Doing what we do out of ourselves we are following our character. It is not what somebody else wants to do, it is us, it's our will. Maybe we have become what somebody else wanted us to become, but now it is us. Are we free? Tonight, my will is free of the direct influence of other people in my life, they are not in this room right now. And still, aren't they calling me to order? And I accept them, living in my head, or in my soul, if you wish. And I could fight them or not, could listen to them and accept their input or defy them. And how I will behave is the workings of my character, I will see my will at work there. At moments it will open my eyes and I will learn: ah, that's how I am now. Am I free?
If I learned to go left around the block and right around the block, then I have control, all other things being equal, I can make a free choice. Are things ever equal? In a relevant way, yes, they are quite often weighing out and we can make a free choice. It just means we have no overwhelming reason for either direction, to go right or left around the block, but as we have to go now- it's time- we have to deliberate! And we can decide to go the stony way, just because we did not let ourselves go by our strong impulses but deliberated for a while. It's just, in all that, I do not see the need for a will or a free will in a form of a first mover. We, us, the seeing muscles, are n e w movers, no f i r s t movers. No need for that assumption: whatsoever. Nothing is independent. We are the pool in which the waters of calculation get their inspiration into which river bed they will flow. We have stopped to deliberate, and then we go our ways. It's as good as it gets. Could we have done otherwise? Yes, had there been more of this and that! There was a choice, we have seen arguments, we have felt it. All elements- or at least many different elements- have shown and are resulting.
Think of all the willpower it takes to go the stony way and withstand the pull of the easy going. There you feel a strong will and you are really happy when you have reached escape velocity and can stumble and fall on the rubble freely, as it oughta be. You had to be strong and you were strong. Or you had to be strong, but, alas, you fell for the temptation and got swept away in a rush. Either of these 'moves' was operable out of your-character-so-far and the motivations you met, given the choice. You don't have to further own it. It's already yours, you are responsible, because you are the responsive thing, or -one. Wow, what can we learn from your responsiveness or boo! how can we change its awareness so you could fare better next time? That's already our souls at work. To say this work changes the way of the world is either trivial or wrong.
If I learned to go left around the block and right around the block, then I have control, all other things being equal, I can make a free choice. Are things ever equal? In a relevant way, yes, they are quite often weighing out and we can make a free choice. It just means we have no overwhelming reason for either direction, to go right or left around the block, but as we have to go now- it's time- we have to deliberate! And we can decide to go the stony way, just because we did not let ourselves go by our strong impulses but deliberated for a while. It's just, in all that, I do not see the need for a will or a free will in a form of a first mover. We, us, the seeing muscles, are n e w movers, no f i r s t movers. No need for that assumption: whatsoever. Nothing is independent. We are the pool in which the waters of calculation get their inspiration into which river bed they will flow. We have stopped to deliberate, and then we go our ways. It's as good as it gets. Could we have done otherwise? Yes, had there been more of this and that! There was a choice, we have seen arguments, we have felt it. All elements- or at least many different elements- have shown and are resulting.
Think of all the willpower it takes to go the stony way and withstand the pull of the easy going. There you feel a strong will and you are really happy when you have reached escape velocity and can stumble and fall on the rubble freely, as it oughta be. You had to be strong and you were strong. Or you had to be strong, but, alas, you fell for the temptation and got swept away in a rush. Either of these 'moves' was operable out of your-character-so-far and the motivations you met, given the choice. You don't have to further own it. It's already yours, you are responsible, because you are the responsive thing, or -one. Wow, what can we learn from your responsiveness or boo! how can we change its awareness so you could fare better next time? That's already our souls at work. To say this work changes the way of the world is either trivial or wrong.