Thanks for the input!
This is definitely the core underlying principle behind the determinist perspective. Cause and effect.
Curious to know what you consider 'the ability to choose' to really mean?
We obviously don't think that a rock has the 'ability to choose', yet the difference between the rock and us on a chemical level is just some differences in chemical compounds and molecular bonds!
What is a 'mind'? What is a 'soul'? What is 'me'? If our brains are truly just chemical reactions taking place, then what is a 'choice'?
Isn't the outcome of a chemical reaction - by and large - predictable? You add baking soda to vinegar, they produce c02. You would never see those two things produce a chocolate cake. (on their own, anyway)
What would make the chemical reactions in the brain any different from the chemical reactions inside a star like the sun? (aside from the elements involved and the intense heat, obviously)
Is a choice just our way of saying 'this is what my neurons did'? It seems most people would like to believe that to 'choose' means that you could do A, or B, but something 'in my mind' or 'in my willpower' or 'in my soul' pushes me to do B instead of A. How could there actually be two options if it's all just chemical reactions?
Thanks again for your input!
24-Sep-2021 07:39:19
