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On Freewill
Speculations of an Agnostic
There is a cup of coffee on the small table in front of me. It is white, with bands of black. There is a stream of white steam drifting from about it. Should I pick it up and take a sip? Or let it cool?
Either way, the choice seems to be mine. I can choose to pick-up or not to pick-up. I have the freedom to will. Freewill.
Or so I might believe.
Most materialistic scientist say otherwise. They suggest that the choice to pick-up was not mine, but pre-determined by various external factors, like the weather or chemicals and electrical signals in my brain.
There are two factors that compound this free-will vs no free-will debate.
- Materialism. Science deals with material observations, or things we can materially observe. Like the weather, or the chemical and electrical signals in my brain. Materialists don’t care about what I’m thinking, or what I’m “conscious” of.
- Observation. While Observation is core to science, it cares little about the observer. It assumes that what is consistently observed by many observers (in a relative sense), must be valid.
Is there some middle ground which merges the two conflicting sides of the free-will vs no free-will debate?
