Thread: Do we really have a free will?

^ I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Maybe it has been discredited in biological circles, but then I'm not making any specific biological claims. I'm just using the parallels between evolution and human development as an illustration. Do you disagree with any particular part of what I said? I don't see how anybody could argue against it as I presented it. We absolutely do go through the stages I mentioned, in the same order as our evolutionary ancestors did. And the development of a human mind loosely parallels the development of the mind through evolution up to our species.

I'm not trying to say it's exactly the same - of course not! For instance, I would't claim that dogs think the same way 3 year old children do or anything like that. I think that's the part of the theory that's been discredited, or other very specific claims people may have made from it. But again, I'm only using it as a loose illustration. All I'm saying is that as individuals we start off largely unconscious and gradually develop conscious awareness in stages, and that it kind-of sort-of parallels the way consciousness seems to have developed through evolution. Nothing more specific than that. I don't see how anybody can deny that. From what I've read of the science of the mind it seems our evolution has been toward ever-increasing freedom from instinct and a developing ability to make decisions our ancestors couldn't.

It seems like we all have different definitions of what free will is. To me it means we're not slaves to our unconscious instincts or desires the way many animals are. What would actually constitute free will by your definition Indie?