If you just start talking to some random person about it, then you’re unlikely to get a high-quality conversation; because most of the stuff people will say about it is inane or obvious or obviously wrong, etc. But there are definitely interesting discussions and thoughts that can be had about it.
I’ve had countless garbage conversations about, and a handful of good ones. Probably my favoutite take is from Daniel Dennett’s book “Freedom Evolves”. He is very careful to build up a strong picture of what is it that we’re talking about and what the ‘obvious’ problems are, before then carefully and systematically showing those things aren’t really problems with what we were talking about anyway. Before reading that book, I was hard line in the camp of “obviously free will doesn’t exist; that’s a scientific fact”; but after reading it… well, I’d now say “it depends exactly what you mean, but probably the free will you’re talking about does exist.”.
I think conversation with anyone about that kind of thing is good as long as they’re willing to engaged. If they have thought about it you get a different viewpoint, if they haven’t you give them something to think about
I don’t really take a stance either way on the free will thing because I think it’s a made up concept whose existence entirely depends on your own definition of the word
Unless you believe in some kind of immutable soul that’s separate from the physical body and brain that is in charge of decisions somehow I suppose
If you just start talking to some random person about it, then you’re unlikely to get a high-quality conversation; because most of the stuff people will say about it is inane or obvious or obviously wrong, etc. But there are definitely interesting discussions and thoughts that can be had about it. I’ve had countless garbage conversations about, and a handful of good ones. Probably my favoutite take is from Daniel Dennett’s book “Freedom Evolves”. He is very careful to build up a strong picture of what is it that we’re talking about and what the ‘obvious’ problems are, before then carefully and systematically showing those things aren’t really problems with what we were talking about anyway. Before reading that book, I was hard line in the camp of “obviously free will doesn’t exist; that’s a scientific fact”; but after reading it… well, I’d now say “it depends exactly what you mean, but probably the free will you’re talking about does exist.”.
I think conversation with anyone about that kind of thing is good as long as they’re willing to engaged. If they have thought about it you get a different viewpoint, if they haven’t you give them something to think about
I don’t really take a stance either way on the free will thing because I think it’s a made up concept whose existence entirely depends on your own definition of the word
Unless you believe in some kind of immutable soul that’s separate from the physical body and brain that is in charge of decisions somehow I suppose