scholarly journals Czy naprawdę „bezwolny świat"? Kwestia wolnej woli w literaturze popularnonaukowej na przykładzie tekstu Azima F. Shariffa i Kathleen D. Vohs — Is It Really "The World Without Free Will"?

2018 ◽  
pp. 57-74
Author(s):  
Łukasz Jach ◽  
Łukasz Lamża
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
The World

Ustalenia naukowe wywierają coraz większy wpływ na życie współczesnych ludzi, jednak wraz z rosnącym znaczeniem systemu naukowego zwiększa się także ryzyko powstawania zniekształconych wyobrażeń na temat aktualnego stanu nauki oraz tego, co zostało przez nią jednoznacznie rozstrzygnięte. W związku z powyższym, badacze w przekazach kierowanych do szerokiego grona odbiorców zobligowani są nie tylko do klarownego, ale także ostrożnego prezentowania swoich ustaleń. Zalecenie to w szczególności odnosi się do problemów, których korzenie tkwią w dyscyplinach pozanaukowych. Należy do nich m.in. kwestia istnienia wolnej woli, podjęta przez A.F. Shariffa i K.D. Vohs w artykule pt. Bezwolny świat. W publikacji tej pojawiło się kilka uproszczeń, które w niniejszym tekście omówiono w oparciu o ustalenia z zakresu psychologii, fizyki oraz filozofii nauki. Ponadto wskazano problemy powstałe w momencie ekstrapolowania wyników badań naukowych dotyczących wolnej woli na sposoby jej ujmowania, pojawiające się w innych niż naukowy subsystemach społecznych.

Consciousness, law of nature, and nomological determinism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyang Yu
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Important Thing ◽  
Law Of Nature ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Brain

Nomological determinism does not mean everything is predictable. It just means everything follows the law of nature. And the most important thing Is that the brain and consciousness follow the law of nature. In other words, there is no free will. Without life, brain and consciousness, the world follows law of nature, that is clear. The life and brain are also part of nature, and they follow the law of nature. This is due to scientific findings. There are not enough scientific findings for consciousness yet. But I think that the consciousness is a nature phenomenon, and it also follows the law of nature.

The Divided Self in the Fiction of Henry James

PMLA ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-460
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Henry James ◽  
Free Spirit ◽  
Divided Self ◽  
Structural Consequence ◽  
The World ◽  
To Come

AbstractThe divided self in James’s fiction may be regarded as an inevitable structural consequence of James’s desire to dramatize the problem of the free spirit in an enslaving world. But the divided self required by art is not essentially different from the divided self known to psychology, and an understanding of the anxieties of that self, particularly of the “obsessive imagery” James uses to depict those anxieties, enriches our understanding of James’s work. The fear of a world that threatens one’s being issues in an elaborate development of an escape motif; of imagery of seizure by the eye and by the world of appearances; and of imagery of petrification, reflecting a dread of being turned into a mere tool or machine. James’s vision of “the great trap of life” permits him to come to terms with his own limitations and culminates in a searching philosophic examination of the problem of free will and determinism.

In the Mouth of Madness

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Blyth
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Horror Genre ◽  
Initial Release ◽  
The World ◽  
Horror Literature ◽  
Global Corporations ◽  
End Of The World

Somewhat overlooked upon its initial release in 1995, John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness has since developed a healthy cult reputation. But far more than simply a fan favourite, this closing instalment of the acclaimed director's self-described “apocalypse trilogy” (following The Thing and Prince Of Darkness) stands today as one of his most thematically complex and stylistically audacious pieces of work. The story of an insurance investigator drawn into the supposedly fictional universe of a best-selling horror novelist, the film is an extension of many recurring themes found in Carpenter's filmography (the end of the world, the loss of free will, a distrust of mass industry and global corporations, the cataclysmic resurgence of ancient evil), as well as an affectionate homage to the works of H. P. Lovecraft (and horror literature more broadly) and a self-reflexive celebration of the horror genre that predates the Scream-inspired postmodernist boom of late-nineties genre cinema. While numerous books and countless academic essays have been written about Carpenter's work, surprisingly little has focused exclusively on In the Mouth of Madness, a film which feels more prescient, more essential, and more daringly complex than ever. This book seeks to redress this imbalance, at last positioning this overlooked masterpiece as essential Carpenter.

scholarly journals Why anything rather than nothing? The answer of quantum mechanics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasil Dinev Penchev
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Mathematical Truth ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Philosophical Interpretation ◽  
The World ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
In Virtue Of

Many researchers determine the question “Why anything rather than nothing?” as the most ancient and fundamental philosophical problem. Furthermore, it is very close to the idea of Creation shared by religion, science, and philosophy, e.g. as the “Big Bang”, the doctrine of “first cause” or “causa sui”, the Creation in six days in the Bible, etc.Thus, the solution of quantum mechanics, being scientific in fact, can be interpreted also philosophically, and even religiously. However, only the philosophical interpretation is the topic of the text.The essence of the answer of quantum mechanics is:1. The creation is necessary in a rigorous mathematical sense. Thus, it does not need any choice, free will, subject, God, etc. to appear. The world exists in virtue of mathematical necessity, e.g. as any mathematical truth such as 2+2=4.2. The being is less than nothing rather than more than nothing. So, the creation is not an increase of nothing, but the decrease of nothing: it is a deficiency in relation of nothing. Time and its “arrow” are the way of that diminishing or incompleteness to nothing.

What's Happening to the London Orchestras?

Tempo ◽  
1977 ◽  
pp. 10-13
Author(s):  
Gavin Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Cause And Effect ◽  
The World

Cause and effect? London is where more music is made than any other city in the world; it is also where there would seem to be more criticism of the orchestral diet. We are blessed with enough orchestras to create a shy, at which critics may hurl their balls—but never take home a prize, for they have come to the wrong stall. Indeed, when a prize is offered they themselves are too shy to accept. Coconuts seldom jump off perches of their own free will, just as orchestral managements are fearful of stamping their feet with frustration for fear of being asked—'now, now! how many should there be?'. But several recent occurrences tempt me to look over the edge.

scholarly journals A Turing test for free will

2012 ◽  
Vol 370 (1971) ◽  
pp. 3597-3610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Decision Maker ◽  
Turing Test ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Theory Of Computation ◽  
Alan Turing ◽  
The World ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Before Alan Turing made his crucial contributions to the theory of computation, he studied the question of whether quantum mechanics could throw light on the nature of free will. This paper investigates the roles of quantum mechanics and computation in free will. Although quantum mechanics implies that events are intrinsically unpredictable, the ‘pure stochasticity’ of quantum mechanics adds randomness only to decision-making processes, not freedom. By contrast, the theory of computation implies that, even when our decisions arise from a completely deterministic decision-making process, the outcomes of that process can be intrinsically unpredictable, even to—especially to—ourselves. I argue that this intrinsic computational unpredictability of the decision-making process is what gives rise to our impression that we possess free will. Finally, I propose a ‘Turing test’ for free will: a decision-maker who passes this test will tend to believe that he, she, or it possesses free will, whether the world is deterministic or not.

scholarly journals Assessing Anas’ Methodology of Undercover Investigative Journalism in the Light of the Doctrine of Free Will

2020 ◽  
pp. 228-233
Author(s):  
Isaac Boaheng
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
General Public ◽  
The Other ◽  
Investigative Journalism ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

Corruption is a major problem in the world but more so in Africa. Different efforts have been put in place to curb this social problem but corruption still persists. In Ghana, investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has joined the fight against corruption and has made various revelations that have helped the government and the general populace in one way or the other. Anas’ methodology has however attracted various comments from the general public concerning how ethical this approach could be. This article aims at assessing the investigative journalism methodology used by Ghanaian undercover investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas in the light of the doctrine of free will to determine if this methodology is a breach of free will or not. Analyzing data extracted from articles, books, and others, the paper concludes that the choice of Anas’ victims to involve themselves in corrupt practices is done out of their own free will and hence they are fully responsible for their decisions.

scholarly journals Francisco Suarez on God’s Knowledge of Future Contingent Events

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-151
Author(s):  
Ivan Vladimirovich Lupandin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
The World ◽  
Future Contingent ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Francisco Suarez

The problems of contingency, free will, omniscience and omnipotence of God, possible worlds, posed by the famous representative of the second scholasticism, the Spanish philosopher Francisco Suarez (1548–1617) in his work “On God’s knowledge of future contingent events” are discussed in the historical, philosophical and theological context. Suarez (unlike, for example, Spinoza) recognizes the existence of contingent events in the world, shows that the existence of contingent events does not diminish the omnipotence of God. Suarez, following Thomas Aquinas, shows how it is possible to reconcile the existence of free will, the main source of contingency, with the omniscience of God. As Luis Molina, Suarez recognizes God’s knowledge not only of real, but also of possible future. The originality of Suarez manifests itself in solving the question of how God knows possible future events and, accordingly, possible worlds. Attention is paid to the influence of Suarez’s philosophy on the philosophy of modern times, including Descartes and Leibniz. The reader is also offered a translation of the first chapter of the second part of the essay of the Spanish philosopher and theologian Francisco Suarez “On God’s knowledge of future contingent events”, in which Suarez on the basis of the hermeneutics of the Biblical texts proves the thesis about God’s knowledge of future contingent events, which could have happened, but in reality had not happened and will not happen in the future, disproving the arguments of Catholic theologians Ambrogio Catarino Politi (1484–1553) and Jansenius of Ghent (1510–1576), who questioned the assertion that God possesses such knowledge. The translation is provided with comments, an introductory article and a list of references.

Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iddo Landau
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Good Source ◽  
Religious People ◽  
Finding Meaning ◽  
The World ◽  
Meaningful Lives

After explaining what meaning in life is, the book moves to criticizing certain presuppositions about the meaning of life that unnecessarily lead many people to believe that their lives are meaningless. Among others, it criticizes perfectionism about meaning in life, namely, the assumption that meaningful lives must include some perfection or some rare and difficult achievements. It then responds to recurring arguments made by people who take their lives to be meaningless, such as the arguments claiming that life is meaningless because death eventually annihilates us and everything we do; whatever we do is negligible when examined in the context of the whole universe; we have no free will and, thus, deserve no praise for what we achieve; everything, including meaning, is completely relative; we do not know what the purpose of life is; whenever we achieve something we stop sensing it as valuable; and there is so much suffering and evil in the world. The book also offers strategies that may help people identify what is meaningful in life and increase its meaningfulness. The final chapters consider questions such as whether only religious people can have meaningful lives; whether meaning of life should be discussed only by psychologists; and whether existentialism is a good source of guidance on the meaning of life.

scholarly journals A Surprising Closeness in Latin American Academia: Luther and Certain Neurosciences

Open Theology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 677-684
Author(s):  
Jorge Martínez-Barrera
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Common Element ◽  
The World ◽  
The Common ◽  
American Academia ◽  
Current Advance

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to show a surprising coincidence between Lutheran Protestantism and physicalist neurosciences regarding the negation of free will and how this issue can begin to be studied in Latin American academia. The current advance of Protestantism in Latin America, accompanied by a decline in Catholicism, is simultaneous with a growing presence of the physicalist neurosciences. It can be seen that the development of Protestantism and neurosciences coincide historically in Latin America, unlike what happened in other parts of the world, where Protestantism has a much more extensive history. This allows us to suppose that the discussion on free will will be installed as a matter of research and discussion in the Latin American academia, which had not happened until now. In this work we also seek to identify what could be the common element that unites the Lutheran conception and the arguments of the physicalist neurosciences about the negation of free will. We will show that this common element is the aversion to metaphysics as an explanatory dimension of free will. The strong opposition to metaphysics is probably the most important common element between Lutheran Protestantism and the physicalistic neurosciences. This will allow us to show that the proximity between the two is not such an extravagant idea.

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