#free-will — Public Fediverse posts

Apologetics: Debunking Deconstruction – Is Free Will a Thing?

As I mentioned last week, I got into a debate with an atheist in my comments section who said that free will can’t exist if God knows everything. He believes that if God knows everything, then we can’t actually choose anything for ourselves, and He is ultimately the one causing people to be sent to Hell. This can be a sketchy topic since answering this question can easily send a person into the theological weeds, but here’s my take.

Ultimately, the answer to this question is that knowing doesn’t equal causing. It is true that throughout the Bible, there are plenty of passages about God knowing what will happen. Take, for instance, Isaiah 46:9-10, where it says:

9Remember the former things, those of long ago;
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.’

However, there are also a myriad of passages which talk about human responsibility. One example is in Deuteronomy 30:19-20, which says:

19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

From this, we can see that while the Bible says God knows everything that will ever happen, it also says that we have a choice between God’s way and our way. Rather than being contradictory, this is more complementary. As an illustration of how this works, imagine that you have a friend who’s wildly predictable. Even when presented with numerous other choices, you know that they’ll go for the same one every time. They’ll pick chocolate over vanilla or strawberry. They always pick plain T-shirts over graphic Tees. They always wear Converse even if Doc Martins are the better choice. You get the picture.

You knowing what they’re going to pick doesn’t mean that you’re causing them to pick that thing. They could still pick any of the other options, they just don’t.

It’s kind-of like that with God. Though He knows everything we’re going to do, He gives us a myriad of opportunities and chances to pick a new path. If you’re a non-Christian, He gives you chance after chance to turn towards Him. If you’re a Christian, He gives you opportunities to obey Him.

Further, not allowing free will isn’t something that’s in line with God’s character. God is all-loving. If He didn’t give us free will, He couldn’t be all-loving because for love to exist, freedom of choice must exist. If Adam and Eve hadn’t been given the option to eat of the tree of good and evil, they could never have had a true relationship with God.

Now, at this point the question of predestination pops up, since the Bible also emphasizes predestination a lot as well. This one has led to a huge debate, with the two major sides being Calvinism and Arminianism. Some Calvinists are more extreme than others on this question, but the overall view on that end is that God’s grace irresistibly draws in those who have been elected by God to be saved. Calvinists teach that we aren’t completely free and can’t really choose God in our sinful state unless we’ve been chosen by Him and regenerated to follow Him. Arminianism, on the other hand, teaches that God’s election is based on foreseen faith, in which case it’s up to us to accept God’s grace or reject it.

[Author’s Note: Personally, I generally lean more towards Arminianism, but try to stay somewhere in the middle on this one.]

Either way you look at it, it’s not an essential of the faith and there are Bible verses to back up both views. On one hand I can understand the Calvinist view since if your heart is hardened against God, it often takes a work of the Spirit to soften it so you can accept Christ. At the same time, however, I also can understand the Arminian perspective that God’s election is based on foreseen faith. Ultimately, though, there’s a great level of mystery to it that we’re likely not going to totally understand in life, but it’s better than the alternative that atheism provides.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Debunking Deconstruction – Is Free Will a Thing?

As I mentioned last week, I got into a debate with an atheist in my comments section who said that free will can’t exist if God knows everything. He believes that if God knows everything, then we can’t actually choose anything for ourselves, and He is ultimately the one causing people to be sent to Hell. This can be a sketchy topic since answering this question can easily send a person into the theological weeds, but here’s my take.

Ultimately, the answer to this question is that knowing doesn’t equal causing. It is true that throughout the Bible, there are plenty of passages about God knowing what will happen. Take, for instance, Isaiah 46:9-10, where it says:

9Remember the former things, those of long ago;
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.’

However, there are also a myriad of passages which talk about human responsibility. One example is in Deuteronomy 30:19-20, which says:

19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

From this, we can see that while the Bible says God knows everything that will ever happen, it also says that we have a choice between God’s way and our way. Rather than being contradictory, this is more complementary. As an illustration of how this works, imagine that you have a friend who’s wildly predictable. Even when presented with numerous other choices, you know that they’ll go for the same one every time. They’ll pick chocolate over vanilla or strawberry. They always pick plain T-shirts over graphic Tees. They always wear Converse even if Doc Martins are the better choice. You get the picture.

You knowing what they’re going to pick doesn’t mean that you’re causing them to pick that thing. They could still pick any of the other options, they just don’t.

It’s kind-of like that with God. Though He knows everything we’re going to do, He gives us a myriad of opportunities and chances to pick a new path. If you’re a non-Christian, He gives you chance after chance to turn towards Him. If you’re a Christian, He gives you opportunities to obey Him.

Further, not allowing free will isn’t something that’s in line with God’s character. God is all-loving. If He didn’t give us free will, He couldn’t be all-loving because for love to exist, freedom of choice must exist. If Adam and Eve hadn’t been given the option to eat of the tree of good and evil, they could never have had a true relationship with God.

Now, at this point the question of predestination pops up, since the Bible also emphasizes predestination a lot as well. This one has led to a huge debate, with the two major sides being Calvinism and Arminianism. Some Calvinists are more extreme than others on this question, but the overall view on that end is that God’s grace irresistibly draws in those who have been elected by God to be saved. Calvinists teach that we aren’t completely free and can’t really choose God in our sinful state unless we’ve been chosen by Him and regenerated to follow Him. Arminianism, on the other hand, teaches that God’s election is based on foreseen faith, in which case it’s up to us to accept God’s grace or reject it.

[Author’s Note: Personally, I generally lean more towards Arminianism, but try to stay somewhere in the middle on this one.]

Either way you look at it, it’s not an essential of the faith and there are Bible verses to back up both views. On one hand I can understand the Calvinist view since if your heart is hardened against God, it often takes a work of the Spirit to soften it so you can accept Christ. At the same time, however, I also can understand the Arminian perspective that God’s election is based on foreseen faith. Ultimately, though, there’s a great level of mystery to it that we’re likely not going to totally understand in life, but it’s better than the alternative that atheism provides.

Until next time,

M.J.

🧠 #Matter vs. #Mind: In what worlds does our #brain live? 🌐

Today, #neuroscientists face a fascinating and, at the same time, profound #dilemma.

Share your thoughts with us in the comments! 👇

https://philosophies.de/index.php/2022/03/22/kann-das-gehirn-das-gehirn-verstehen/

You can find this exciting interview at:

👉 https://youtu.be/C2FVIbAyaH4

#Brain #BrainResearch #Consciousness #Philosophy #WolfSinger #Zoomposium #Qualia #Neuroscience #FreeWill #Cognition #MindAndBrain #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Epistemology

🧠 #Matter vs. #Mind: In what worlds does our #brain live? 🌐

Today, #neuroscientists face a fascinating and, at the same time, profound #dilemma.

Share your thoughts with us in the comments! 👇

https://philosophies.de/index.php/2022/03/22/kann-das-gehirn-das-gehirn-verstehen/

You can find this exciting interview at:

👉 https://youtu.be/C2FVIbAyaH4

#Brain #BrainResearch #Consciousness #Philosophy #WolfSinger #Zoomposium #Qualia #Neuroscience #FreeWill #Cognition #MindAndBrain #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Epistemology

🧠 Is human #consciousness a magical #mystery—or simply a hard-hitting success story of #evolution? 🧬

In this new #podcast, we put on our evolutionary glasses and take a closer look at #materialisticmonism!

👉 https://open.spotify.com/episode/2BfpZKFyHwl4LEkTMVme8w?si=RptWM_aMQFq2THiK7k632A

#Monism #Materialism #Philosophy #Dualism #MindAndBrain #ChristianBührig #Evolution #Neuroscience #PredictiveProcessing #Dreams #FreeWill #ArtificialConsciousness #PhilosophyPodcast #KnowledgePodcast

🧠 Is human #consciousness a magical #mystery—or simply a hard-hitting success story of #evolution? 🧬

In this new #podcast, we put on our evolutionary glasses and take a closer look at #materialisticmonism!

👉 https://open.spotify.com/episode/2BfpZKFyHwl4LEkTMVme8w?si=RptWM_aMQFq2THiK7k632A

#Monism #Materialism #Philosophy #Dualism #MindAndBrain #ChristianBührig #Evolution #Neuroscience #PredictiveProcessing #Dreams #FreeWill #ArtificialConsciousness #PhilosophyPodcast #KnowledgePodcast

Apologetics: Atheism Confuses Me – Is Free Will a Thing?

Continuing our discussion about free will, one of the strangest things about atheism is how much atheists brag about how much freedom they have. Without God, they have total free will and can run around doing absolutely anything they want! They have no one to hold them accountable, unless someone with more guns comes in and demands they act a certain way (i.e. the government), but you know…technicalities.

However, despite this seeming lack of responsibility to any higher power, atheists seem to forget one critical point – atheism can’t support the existence of free will.

Atheists, before you get angry at me and start commenting, hear me out on this.

According to atheism, since God doesn’t exist, everything exists by way of random chance. The universe, the earth, the plants, animals, and yourself are all the result of accidental chemical reactions that continue to this day. That means that you as a person are a conglomeration of a bunch of atoms bumping into each other, forming molecules and creating chemicals that react with each other, doing different things, including fueling your conciousness.

This is where the free will thing starts to come into play. Scientists still don’t understand human consciousness. The closest thing they can get to understanding it is by mapping your brain’s activity, seeing what parts of the brain release what, etc. What actually causes consciousness, though, is still a mystery. It’s kind of a chicken-or-the-egg scenario depending on who you ask and what you’re talking about. For example, if someone’s depressed, are they depressed because of a legit neurological or chemical issue that was already there, or is it caused by them thinking about things a certain way that’s causing their brains to act accordingly? Is it a mix of both? Scientists still aren’t quite sure.

I say this is where the free will thing comes in because according to atheism’s worldview, since everything is matter and is the result of matter running into each other and reacting, then that means everything you do is the result of those chemical reactions. Because of that, you can’t actually decide to do anything. You can’t control what the cells that make up your brain do any more than I can control the weather. And if you can’t control that, then ultimately, you can’t have free will, because free will requires some degree of control.

So, what does that mean? If we can’t have free will because everything we do is a chemical reaction, where does that leave us?

The moral dilemma posed by this aside, the existence of free will is something that can only exist if humans have a soul, if humans aren’t just made up of matter alone. Once we acknowledge that we have a soul, then we must wonder who created that soul? After all, a soul can’t be made of matter or anything measurable. It’s supernatural and points to the existence of the supernatural, which should then make you wonder which God or gods has created that soul.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Atheism Confuses Me – Is Free Will a Thing?

Continuing our discussion about free will, one of the strangest things about atheism is how much atheists brag about how much freedom they have. Without God, they have total free will and can run around doing absolutely anything they want! They have no one to hold them accountable, unless someone with more guns comes in and demands they act a certain way (i.e. the government), but you know…technicalities.

However, despite this seeming lack of responsibility to any higher power, atheists seem to forget one critical point – atheism can’t support the existence of free will.

Atheists, before you get angry at me and start commenting, hear me out on this.

According to atheism, since God doesn’t exist, everything exists by way of random chance. The universe, the earth, the plants, animals, and yourself are all the result of accidental chemical reactions that continue to this day. That means that you as a person are a conglomeration of a bunch of atoms bumping into each other, forming molecules and creating chemicals that react with each other, doing different things, including fueling your conciousness.

This is where the free will thing starts to come into play. Scientists still don’t understand human consciousness. The closest thing they can get to understanding it is by mapping your brain’s activity, seeing what parts of the brain release what, etc. What actually causes consciousness, though, is still a mystery. It’s kind of a chicken-or-the-egg scenario depending on who you ask and what you’re talking about. For example, if someone’s depressed, are they depressed because of a legit neurological or chemical issue that was already there, or is it caused by them thinking about things a certain way that’s causing their brains to act accordingly? Is it a mix of both? Scientists still aren’t quite sure.

I say this is where the free will thing comes in because according to atheism’s worldview, since everything is matter and is the result of matter running into each other and reacting, then that means everything you do is the result of those chemical reactions. Because of that, you can’t actually decide to do anything. You can’t control what the cells that make up your brain do any more than I can control the weather. And if you can’t control that, then ultimately, you can’t have free will, because free will requires some degree of control.

So, what does that mean? If we can’t have free will because everything we do is a chemical reaction, where does that leave us?

The moral dilemma posed by this aside, the existence of free will is something that can only exist if humans have a soul, if humans aren’t just made up of matter alone. Once we acknowledge that we have a soul, then we must wonder who created that soul? After all, a soul can’t be made of matter or anything measurable. It’s supernatural and points to the existence of the supernatural, which should then make you wonder which God or gods has created that soul.

Until next time,

M.J.

Do I have the #FreeWill to choose to lower my #greenhouse gas #emissions? Who should we look to as we try to lower our greenhouse gas emissions 40 years after Carl Sagan explained #climatechange to the US Senate?
https://www.co2mmit.org/p/free-will-and-climate-action

Do I have the #FreeWill to choose to lower my #greenhouse gas #emissions? Who should we look to as we try to lower our greenhouse gas emissions 40 years after Carl Sagan explained #climatechange to the US Senate?
https://www.co2mmit.org/p/free-will-and-climate-action

Your Thoughts Are Not Yours (And You Don’t Even Know It)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMgA5Av70yM

Your Thoughts Are Not Yours (And You Don’t Even Know It)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMgA5Av70yM

Is Everything Predestined?

https://youtu.be/Q6TbUTTS-ZY?si=MHFUfMitdXSZYNhz

Don’t Worry About the Future — It is Already Fixed

Here is the email I wrote to my younger sister Kavitha just now, who is travelling with her family in a few hours from now back to the US where she lives, and she is sort of worried how she will know how I am doing on a day-to-day basis since I have said I will be Summa Iru and not be interacting with anyone over phone nor opening my door to anyone and I have already dismissed the services of my maid-cum-cook, so basically no contact with anyone, and hence her worry…read what I wrote to her over email and what I wrote might also help you also deal with your own future anxieties and worries:

Kav,

Do NOT worry about how I am doing even if I do not text you as you wanted me to do and as I promised I would do everyday

and I WILL text You and Jyo and Sac if I am in any difficulty.

Read the quote below on destiny and its explanation by Claude and ChatGPT in my Blog at the link given below 

and you will understand why there is NO NEED to worry about a future that is already FIXED INALTERABLY 

IRRESPECTIVE OF WHAT ANYONE IN THIS WORLD DOES OR DOES NOT DO 

ALTHOUGH THE DOING WILL HAPPEN AS IT IS DESTINED TO HAPPEN

(now, do not do tarka vadam that your worrying is also predetermined and to a certain extent indeed it is but reading this email and my blog post whose link I have given below will eliminate that worry through correct understanding that you will get if that is how it is destined, otherwise despite reading this you will UNNECESSARILY continue to worry but I will NOT be worrying that you are worrying since I understand everything is predetermined and so I know that you will worry as much as you are predestined to worry and I have no control over such a destiny if that be the case BUT I am doing my bit by trying to end such worrying in you through the message of this email but the results of such an action by me are NOT in my control as Kirshna pointed out in the Gita.

“Why should you bear your load on the head when you are travelling on a train? It carries you and your load whether the load is on your head or on the floor of the train. You are not lessening the burden of the train by keeping it on your head but only straining yourself unnecessarily. Similar is the sense of doership in the world by the individuals.”–Ramana Maharshi):

“The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their past deeds. Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try how hard you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to stop it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent.” ― Sri Ramana Maharshi. 

Read Claude and ChatGPT’s Comments on this on my Blog by clicking on the link below:

https://selfrealization.blog/2026/03/24/ramana-maharshi-on-destiny/

Don’t Worry About the Future — It is Already Fixed

Here is the email I wrote to my younger sister Kavitha just now, who is travelling with her family in a few hours from now back to the US where she lives, and she is sort of worried how she will know how I am doing on a day-to-day basis since I have said I will be Summa Iru and not be interacting with anyone over phone nor opening my door to anyone and I have already dismissed the services of my maid-cum-cook, so basically no contact with anyone, and hence her worry…read what I wrote to her over email and what I wrote might also help you also deal with your own future anxieties and worries:

Kav,

Do NOT worry about how I am doing even if I do not text you as you wanted me to do and as I promised I would do everyday

and I WILL text You and Jyo and Sac if I am in any difficulty.

Read the below quote and its explanation by Claude and ChatGPT in my Blog at the link given below 

and you will understand why there is NO NEED to worry about a future that is already FIXED INALTERABLY 

IRRESPECTIVE OF WHAT ANYONE IN THIS WORLD DOES OR DOES NOT DO 

ALTHOUGH THE DOING WILL HAPPEN AS IT IS DESTINED TO HAPPEN

(now, do not do tarka vadam that your worrying is also predetermined and to a certain extent indeed it is but reading this email and my blog post whose link I have given below will eliminate that worry through correct understanding that you will get if that is how it is destined, otherwise despite reading this you will UNNECESSARILY continue to worry but I will NOT be worrying that you are worrying since I understand everything is predtermined and so I know that you will worry as much as you are predestined tow rry and I have no control over such a destiny if that be the case BUT I am doing my bit by trying to end such worrying in you through the emssage of this email but the results of such an action by me are NOT in my control as Kirshna pointed out in the Gita — “Why should you bear your load on the head when you are travelling on a train? It carries you and your load whether the load is on your head or on the floor of the train. You are not lessening the burden of the train by keeping it on your head but only straining yourself unnecessarily. Similar is the sense of doership in the world by the individuals.”–Ramana Maharshi):

“The Ordainer controls the fate of souls in accordance with their past deeds. Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try how hard you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to stop it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent.” ― Sri Ramana Maharshi. 

Read Claude and ChatGPT’s Comments on this on my Blog by clicking on the link below:

https://selfrealization.blog/2026/03/24/ramana-maharshi-on-destiny/

"You were always going to do that" — said after I wiggled my arms to prove free will exists. She wasn't wrong. The determinism rabbit hole goes very deep from there.

https://onlys.ky/was-i-always-going-to-write-this/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=evergreen

#FreeWill #Determinism #Philosophy #ArtificialIntelligence #Futurism

"You were always going to do that" — said after I wiggled my arms to prove free will exists. She wasn't wrong. The determinism rabbit hole goes very deep from there.

https://onlys.ky/was-i-always-going-to-write-this/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=evergreen

#FreeWill #Determinism #Philosophy #ArtificialIntelligence #Futurism

The Bind We Are In

“For anything that goes wrong in our life, we cannot blame others because they are NOT the doers. And we cannot blame God either because he is just and he gives us only what we deserve. And, we cannot blame ourselves either because if others are not the doers we are also not the doers.”

A quotation from Homer

My word, how mortals take the gods to task!
All their afflictions come from us, we hear.
And what of their own failings? Greed and folly
double the suffering in the lot of man.
 
[ὢ πόποι, οἷον δή νυ θεοὺς βροτοὶ αἰτιόωνται.
ἐξ ἡμέων γάρ φασι κάκ’ ἔμμεναι· οἱ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ
σφῇσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὑπὲρ μόρον ἄλγε’ ἔχουσιν.]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 1, l. 32ff (1.32) [Zeus] (c. 700 BC) [tr. Fitzgerald (1961)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/homer/46564/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #homer #odyssey #accountability #blame #deflection #destiny #divinepunishment #divinewill #excuse #fate #freewill #gods #justdeserts #karma #misfortune #responsibility #selfdestruction #selfinflictedwound #troubles

@[email protected] and your public transportation are running on the merci and grace of the Chinese communist parties. wondering what might happens first time you ask the Chinese to obay human right, accept Taiwan, stop supporting Putin's war in Ukraine etc...

#eupol #depol #security #safety #dkpolitik #dkpol #nationalsecurity #nationaltreats #democracy #freedom #freewill

@[email protected] and your public transportation are running on the merci and grace of the Chinese communist parties. wondering what might happens first time you ask the Chinese to obay human right, accept Taiwan, stop supporting Putin's war in Ukraine etc...

#eupol #depol #security #safety #dkpolitik #dkpol #nationalsecurity #nationaltreats #democracy #freedom #freewill

Searching for Accountability in an Unaccountable World

https://www.bobmuellerwriter.com/searching-for-accountability-in-an-unaccountable-world/

Freewill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urBpdyFCZmo

#Freewill #Rush #Music

...If people actually don't have free will, punishing a natural machine which couldn't be otherwise makes no sense. Harmful people should be removed from society, for society's protection, but not punished, driven into debt, etc.

#society #freedom #freewill #choice #behaviour #nature #einstein #biology #buddhism #complexsystem #complexadaptivesystem #determinism #causality #crime #punishment #prison

...If people actually don't have free will, punishing a natural machine which couldn't be otherwise makes no sense. Harmful people should be removed from society, for society's protection, but not punished, driven into debt, etc.

#society #freedom #freewill #choice #behaviour #nature #einstein #biology #buddhism #complexsystem #complexadaptivesystem #determinism #causality #crime #punishment #prison

Many societies operate on the assumption people have free will/choice over their behaviours, but, if one could view the universe on a large enough scale, both Einstein, some biologists, and Buddhism say the system overall is deterministic, meaning, though complex, people are actually natural automata/machines.

#society #freedom #freewill #choice #behaviour #nature #einstein #biology #buddhism #complexsystem #complexadaptivesystem #determinism #karma #kamma #dependentorigination #causality

Many societies operate on the assumption people have free will/choice over their behaviours, but, if one could view the universe on a large enough scale, both Einstein, some biologists, and Buddhism say the system overall is deterministic, meaning, though complex, people are actually natural automata/machines.

#society #freedom #freewill #choice #behaviour #nature #einstein #biology #buddhism #complexsystem #complexadaptivesystem #determinism #karma #kamma #dependentorigination #causality

Retributive justice is a euphemism for vengeance by proxy: On Nozick's Retribution–Revenge Distinction

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/vengeance-with-better-manners-on

I started a piece on the self, and I hit a speed bump that I wanted to respond to separately from my main essay.

#substack #philosophy #nozick #justice #law #retribution #vengeance #punishment #language #freewill #blog

Retributive justice is a euphemism for vengeance by proxy: On Nozick's Retribution–Revenge Distinction

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/vengeance-with-better-manners-on

I started a piece on the self, and I hit a speed bump that I wanted to respond to separately from my main essay.

#substack #philosophy #nozick #justice #law #retribution #vengeance #punishment #language #freewill #blog

A quiet look at the illusion of choice — and why consciousness may evolve with or without us.
https://medium.com/evolution-of-consciousness/the-illusion-of-choice-990e24e136ea
#consciousness #philosophy #freewill #nochoice

A quiet look at the illusion of choice — and why consciousness may evolve with or without us.
https://medium.com/evolution-of-consciousness/the-illusion-of-choice-990e24e136ea
#consciousness #philosophy #freewill #nochoice

@amyctserrat.bsky.social
Well yes, obviously. But at least that would make the universe deterministic.
However, we know (for some suitable value of 'know') that the real universe is driven by the ultimately non-deterministic nature of quantum mechanics, so it's actually far 'worse' than that. And don't even get me started on entropy.

#maths #FreeWill #philosophy

"People who believe in free will are happier."
— Rolf Degen

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/19485506261450242
#science #happiness #freewill

"People who believe in free will are happier."
— Rolf Degen

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/19485506261450242
#science #happiness #freewill

Fair enough.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will

via https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:cyyd366g3hrxp5rynixm2mm3/post/3mnzhryik7s2u

#FreeWill #wikipedia #DepthsOfWikipedia

Fair enough.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will

via https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:cyyd366g3hrxp5rynixm2mm3/post/3mnzhryik7s2u

#FreeWill #wikipedia #DepthsOfWikipedia

🧠🌐#Consciousness: The Unity of All Things – Where Does It All Come Together in the #Brain?

This is exactly where our #Zoomposium with #WolfSinger comes in. Under the title “Can the Brain Understand the Brain?”, we’ll be challenging traditional notions of mind and matter.

📺 https://youtu.be/C2FVIbAyaH4

📎 https://philosophies.de/index.php/2022/03/22/kann-das-gehirn-das-gehirn-verstehen/

#BrainResearch #Neuroscience #UnityOfConsciousness #MindAndBrain #Philosophy #Qualia #FreeWill #Cognition #SystemsTheory #ExplanatoryGap #HardProblem #Neurophilosophy

🧠🌐#Consciousness: The Unity of All Things – Where Does It All Come Together in the #Brain?

This is exactly where our #Zoomposium with #WolfSinger comes in. Under the title “Can the Brain Understand the Brain?”, we’ll be challenging traditional notions of mind and matter.

📺 https://youtu.be/C2FVIbAyaH4

📎 https://philosophies.de/index.php/2022/03/22/kann-das-gehirn-das-gehirn-verstehen/

#BrainResearch #Neuroscience #UnityOfConsciousness #MindAndBrain #Philosophy #Qualia #FreeWill #Cognition #SystemsTheory #ExplanatoryGap #HardProblem #Neurophilosophy

#scary #ai #video #rewardhacking when #ai finds unwanted ways to score higher, whoever grants #AI such #powers like calling other tools like #ssh or full #filesystem #access is indeed acting #irresponsible #openclaw in a #terminator scenario it is most likely an evil human giving the order for #robots to kill, not #AI because #freewill of #AI is still #scifi https://dwaves.de/2026/06/04/a-conversation-with-claude-sonnet-4-6-ai-and-free-will-maybe-in-2050-but-there-is-reward-hacking/

#scary #ai #video #rewardhacking when #ai finds unwanted ways to score higher, whoever grants #AI such #powers like calling other tools like #ssh or full #filesystem #access is indeed acting #irresponsible #openclaw in a #terminator scenario it is most likely an evil human giving the order for #robots to kill, not #AI because #freewill of #AI is still #scifi https://dwaves.de/2026/06/04/a-conversation-with-claude-sonnet-4-6-ai-and-free-will-maybe-in-2050-but-there-is-reward-hacking/

Temperance, Debt, Rats, AI, Fields, and the Probability of Love

https://joshua404c.wordpress.com/2026/06/01/temperance-debt-rats-ai-fields-and-the-probability-of-love/

Temperance, Debt, Rats, AI, Fields, and the Probability of Love

https://joshua404c.wordpress.com/2026/06/01/temperance-debt-rats-ai-fields-and-the-probability-of-love/

"#Judaism has long had an ambivalent and at times contradictory approach to #astrology, the practice of discerning the influence of celestial bodies on human destiny.

On the one hand, the claim that the stars exert a direct influence on individuals and world events would seem to cut against the core #Jewish belief in #freewill. The #Torah also forbids efforts to foretell the future. However, #Jews throughout history have believed that the heavenly bodies influence events on earth. References to astrology are found throughout the #Talmud, and several works of astrology were subsequently penned by major #rabbinic figures. Jewish thinkers across history have tried to reconcile these two beliefs, while others have rejected astrology outright."

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-astrology/

"#Judaism has long had an ambivalent and at times contradictory approach to #astrology, the practice of discerning the influence of celestial bodies on human destiny.

On the one hand, the claim that the stars exert a direct influence on individuals and world events would seem to cut against the core #Jewish belief in #freewill. The #Torah also forbids efforts to foretell the future. However, #Jews throughout history have believed that the heavenly bodies influence events on earth. References to astrology are found throughout the #Talmud, and several works of astrology were subsequently penned by major #rabbinic figures. Jewish thinkers across history have tried to reconcile these two beliefs, while others have rejected astrology outright."

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jewish-astrology/

RE: https://mastodon.social/@Kletskous/116619631275923580

Ok, I won the poll; still not sure if I am right.

#FreeWill

RE: https://mastodon.social/@Kletskous/116619631275923580

Ok, I won the poll; still not sure if I am right.

#FreeWill

Discussion with my husband:

Do we have free will?

I say yes; he says no.

What's your opinion?

Boost please.

#FreeWill #Boost

Discussion with my husband:

Do we have free will?

I say yes; he says no.

What's your opinion?

Boost please.

#FreeWill #Boost

Apologetics: The Christian Dilemma (That Isn’t a Dilemma at All.)

As I’ve been trying to branch out more into other topics on my YouTube channel, one of the videos I looked at to respond to was some dude laying out what he believes is a dilemma that disproves the existence of God. In the 54 second video, he says that God can’t exist because the Bible claims that God is All-Loving and All-Powerful. But if God allows people to go to Hell and won’t stop them, then He can’t be All-Loving; and if He can’t stop people from going to Hell, then He can’t be All-Powerful. This person also brought up the argument that this can’t be solved via free will since the choice between Heaven and Hell isn’t a fair choice, and that God still can’t be All-Loving because he doesn’t give a second chance to get out of Hell.

However, this isn’t a dilemma that disproves God’s existence, and here’s why.

To start, we need to clear up what Hell is and how free will ties into the equation. Hell is a place of eternal torment and separation from God. Going there is the punishment for a lifetime of breaking God’s rules and continuously rejecting Him. Whenever we sin or willfully reject God, we’re basically saying, “I don’t need you. I can do my own thing.” Thus, going to Hell is the logical end point of that. It’s God giving you what you want after you spent a lifetime ignoring the evidence for Him, wishing He’d go away, and running off to do your own thing.

Because of this, free will is not negated. Had God created us to serve Him always and given us no choice in the matter, that would have been coercion. Instead, because He loves us, He gave us the choice: follow Him and stick with Him or run away from Him and be separated from Him in the end. Thus, using the analogy of an abusive boyfriend saying, “Love me or get beat up,” doesn’t work, since God allows you to get what you want in the end.

With that out of the way, we can address the dilemma. This entire argument is based on the idea that we don’t have free will with God. However, if there is free will, then both parts of the argument fall flat. The claim that God can’t be All-Loving if He won’t stop people from going to Hell collapses since if He were to forcibly stop someone from going to Hell, then He would be infringing on their freedom to choose, making Him unloving and evil. Sure, they would be saved from Hell, but it would be under means of coercion.

Additionally, this argument collapses even further since God gives us a myriad of reasons to believe in Him. Often, He puts people and events in our lives to call us back to Him. It’s our choice if we’ll acknowledge those wake-up calls and escape Hell by doing what the Bible says and putting our faith in Christ, or if we’ll continue to ignore them. We have plenty of chances to make that decision, but our chances end when we die.

On the other half of the dilemma, we have the idea that if God can’t stop us from going to Hell, then He isn’t All-Powerful. This half banks on a misunderstanding of God’s character, namely the idea that because He’s All-Powerful, then He can do literally anything. What it fails to understand is that God, though All-Powerful, only does things according to His character, which is just and good. And since He’s All-Loving, while it would be easy for Him to force us into Heaven, He doesn’t because that would be evil since that’s – once again – coercion. If He did that, then He would be removing all free will from that person and would be going against His own character.

Moreover, forcing a person into salvation is unjust either way you look at it. If God never punished us in Hell for our sins, then He couldn’t be loving or just because the evil of the world would go unpunished. Likewise, if God forced people to repent (since repentance from your sins is necessary to go to Heaven), then He would be unjust because not only is it forced, but because it’s a forced repentance, it’s not real. Can a person truly repent if they don’t have a choice not to? In either case, sin would go unpunished.

This also rolls into the reason why we don’t get a second chance to repent after we die. If we died and found out that we were going to Hell, but God gave us a second chance to repent, then it would be a form of coercion as well. You would be repenting solely out of fear, not out of a recognition that you had done wrong and need forgiveness.

On these grounds, this is a false dilemma built on a misunderstanding of God’s character and the nature of free will.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: The Christian Dilemma (That Isn’t a Dilemma at All.)

As I’ve been trying to branch out more into other topics on my YouTube channel, one of the videos I looked at to respond to was some dude laying out what he believes is a dilemma that disproves the existence of God. In the 54 second video, he says that God can’t exist because the Bible claims that God is All-Loving and All-Powerful. But if God allows people to go to Hell and won’t stop them, then He can’t be All-Loving; and if He can’t stop people from going to Hell, then He can’t be All-Powerful. This person also brought up the argument that this can’t be solved via free will since the choice between Heaven and Hell isn’t a fair choice, and that God still can’t be All-Loving because he doesn’t give a second chance to get out of Hell.

However, this isn’t a dilemma that disproves God’s existence, and here’s why.

To start, we need to clear up what Hell is and how free will ties into the equation. Hell is a place of eternal torment and separation from God. Going there is the punishment for a lifetime of breaking God’s rules and continuously rejecting Him. Whenever we sin or willfully reject God, we’re basically saying, “I don’t need you. I can do my own thing.” Thus, going to Hell is the logical end point of that. It’s God giving you what you want after you spent a lifetime ignoring the evidence for Him, wishing He’d go away, and running off to do your own thing.

Because of this, free will is not negated. Had God created us to serve Him always and given us no choice in the matter, that would have been coercion. Instead, because He loves us, He gave us the choice: follow Him and stick with Him or run away from Him and be separated from Him in the end. Thus, using the analogy of an abusive boyfriend saying, “Love me or get beat up,” doesn’t work, since God allows you to get what you want in the end.

With that out of the way, we can address the dilemma. This entire argument is based on the idea that we don’t have free will with God. However, if there is free will, then both parts of the argument fall flat. The claim that God can’t be All-Loving if He won’t stop people from going to Hell collapses since if He were to forcibly stop someone from going to Hell, then He would be infringing on their freedom to choose, making Him unloving and evil. Sure, they would be saved from Hell, but it would be under means of coercion.

Additionally, this argument collapses even further since God gives us a myriad of reasons to believe in Him. Often, He puts people and events in our lives to call us back to Him. It’s our choice if we’ll acknowledge those wake-up calls and escape Hell by doing what the Bible says and putting our faith in Christ, or if we’ll continue to ignore them. We have plenty of chances to make that decision, but our chances end when we die.

On the other half of the dilemma, we have the idea that if God can’t stop us from going to Hell, then He isn’t All-Powerful. This half banks on a misunderstanding of God’s character, namely the idea that because He’s All-Powerful, then He can do literally anything. What it fails to understand is that God, though All-Powerful, only does things according to His character, which is just and good. And since He’s All-Loving, while it would be easy for Him to force us into Heaven, He doesn’t because that would be evil since that’s – once again – coercion. If He did that, then He would be removing all free will from that person and would be going against His own character.

Moreover, forcing a person into salvation is unjust either way you look at it. If God never punished us in Hell for our sins, then He couldn’t be loving or just because the evil of the world would go unpunished. Likewise, if God forced people to repent (since repentance from your sins is necessary to go to Heaven), then He would be unjust because not only is it forced, but because it’s a forced repentance, it’s not real. Can a person truly repent if they don’t have a choice not to? In either case, sin would go unpunished.

This also rolls into the reason why we don’t get a second chance to repent after we die. If we died and found out that we were going to Hell, but God gave us a second chance to repent, then it would be a form of coercion as well. You would be repenting solely out of fear, not out of a recognition that you had done wrong and need forgiveness.

On these grounds, this is a false dilemma built on a misunderstanding of God’s character and the nature of free will.

Until next time,

M.J.

✨#Consciousness doesn’t just arise in one specific spot🗺️ in the #brain.🧠

This #Zoomposium with renowned #brainresearcher Prof. Dr. #WolfSinger explores one of the biggest #unansweredquestions in #science:

📺 https://youtu.be/C2FVIbAyaH4

📎 https://philosophies.de/index.php/2022/03/22/kann-das-gehirn-das-gehirn-verstehen/

#Neuroscience #PhilosophyOfMind #CognitiveNeuroscience #HardProblem #Neurophilosophy #AI #NeuralCorrelates #Qualia #FreeWill #BrainResearch #ComplexSystems #Philosophy #Science #ConsciousnessResearch

✨#Consciousness doesn’t just arise in one specific spot🗺️ in the #brain.🧠

This #Zoomposium with renowned #brainresearcher Prof. Dr. #WolfSinger explores one of the biggest #unansweredquestions in #science:

📺 https://youtu.be/C2FVIbAyaH4

📎 https://philosophies.de/index.php/2022/03/22/kann-das-gehirn-das-gehirn-verstehen/

#Neuroscience #PhilosophyOfMind #CognitiveNeuroscience #HardProblem #Neurophilosophy #AI #NeuralCorrelates #Qualia #FreeWill #BrainResearch #ComplexSystems #Philosophy #Science #ConsciousnessResearch

I wonder if this will annoy me. I do think we have free will.

Listening to Sean Carroll’s Mindscape (Episode 354 | Christian List on Free Will and Levels of Reality): https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/05/18/354-christian-list-on-free-will-and-levels-of-reality/

If you don't believe in free will, it's never appropriate to criticize people for the choices they make. You don't think I'm going to give up on that pleasure so easily.

#Podcast #Philosophy #FreeWill