admin Posted July 5, 2019 Report Share Posted July 5, 2019 https://loopvids.s3.amazonaws.com/July5Loop.mp4 The idea of free will kind of squishy. On one hand, it's pretty much the cornerstone of western society. In both religion and law. According to Christian tradition, the ONE THING we have, that nobody, not even the devil, can take away is our free will. Our decision to choose. Similarly, if you did something wrong, and you have to face a judge and jury, it's VERY HARD to convince them that somebody else MADE you do it. Even wives that kill husbands after years of abuse have a hard time getting off, UNLESS they kill the dude WHILE he's trying to kill her. All this presupposes that every single ACT we take is based on our ability to DECIDE to do it or to DECIDE to not do it. On the other hand, you could easily argue there is NO SUCH THING as free will. For example, one long study in the UK found that only 2% of adults who lost a significant amount of weight could keep it off for more than a year. If there was any argument AGAINST free will, it would be the growing obesity rates. Few people who are skinny make a rational decision to BECOME obese. And most people who ARE obese are DESPERATE to NOT be obese. If our FREE WILL is so ultra powerful, why can't we just DECIDE to only eat a couple thousand calories a day? Why can't we just DECIDE to get up an hour early and go jogging for an hour before work? Why can't we just DECIDE to study instead of watching TV, so we get a better degree and make more money? There MUST be something else going on. There must be something BESIDES just making a decision and getting an automatic outcome. Some things are EASY. If you decided to read a comic book, that would be EASY. If you decided to read a calculus book, that would be DIFFICULT. What's the difference? Perhaps the thing in between our will and our action is our skill level. Perhaps EVERYTHING we want to do is based on skills. Think of it this way. Every thing we WANT to do, that is EASY is based on a skill that has been TRAINED to the level of unconscious competence. If you have spent years practicing the piano, the DECISION to play a song would have an easy outcome. Without practice, the same decision to play the same song would be difficult and frustrating. The more you practice ANYTHING, the easier it will be. The more skills you have, the more you can do. Get Started: http://mindpersuasion.com/self-esteem/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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