ThMogget t1_j99ce9n wrote
>Is determinism true? I have no idea. That’s a question for quantum physicists to fight about. The interesting philosophical question is what if anything would follow about free will if it were true. - OP article
Determinism is as true as makes no difference. No it is not a physics question and nothing follows.
As I think both Harris and Dennett point out, physics is irrelevant here. Being a slave to the dice is no more free than being a slave to the clockwork. Stochastic mechanics are no more free than any other - they must be exactly random. Random behavior is the opposite of willpower.
Besides, a device that is random cannot compute. It’s a very good thing that at the scale of huge neuron cells, all the quantum randomness has averaged out - or the cell machinery couldn’t work. Your brain thinks because your neurons are non-random. The brain is a huge macrostructure with many emergent layers between your thoughts and molecular randomness.
Quantum mechanics isn’t magic or supernatural. It highlights the huge gap in training between physicists and philosophers that anyone could mention quantum anything in a discussion of free will without being laughed out of existence. It is the sort of silly grasping for mysterious skyhooks that Dennett is fond of roasting people for.
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