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Masgüel's avatar

El argumento que afirma que los defensores del libre albedrío lo hacen porque no soportan la idea de ser ilusiones o marionetas, es una trivialización psicologista. Además es un comodín, como afirmar que el indeterminismo no es libertad porque las decisiones aleatorias no son libres. Como si no hubiese otras formas de indeterminación además del azar.

No. El problema con el determinismo es que huele a altar. El demonio de Laplace resulta de una inversión teológica (Laplace mintió a Napoleón). Es la omnisciencia de Dios transformada en postulado metafísico. En un universo determinista la historia es destino, ordenado desde el principio, el despliegue de un algoritmo. No es casualidad que huela a mandato divino. Del Dios de Newton al demonio de Laplace solo hay que cambiar el triángulo por la peluca. Es la misma figura epistemológica.

Solo un mundo intederminista permite la contingencia histórica, una naturaleza sin plan ni propósito, que se hace sobre la marcha.

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Victor Etxebarria's avatar

I was delighted with your comments on Mitchell's book. I think Mitchell fervently desires (as do I myself) that free will does exist, and so he tries to make arguments in multiple areas, because he himself realizes that none of them are sufficiently convincing. The reality is that we do not know what either Life nor the Self is. In fact we know practically nothing, not even on why is there something instead of there being nothing. The great questions of centuries ago continue to be asked without our finding any answers.

It is true that the Noise of which Mitchell speaks may have some important role to play in something. We know that the most deterministic (nonlinear) mathematical models cannot predict what is going to happen. In matter and energy there are noises of all sorts, but the most basic one is related to the (not null) zero energy point. It seems that in Physics it is not "to be or not to be", but "to be and not to be". So all in all, this noisy oscillation that exists even at absolute zero implies that we cannot predict anything, but the leap to free will I do not see. From quantum mechanics to Life there is an unbridgeable gap (still).

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