Article View: comp.ai
Article #8328Re: Free will and responsibility.
From: Barry W. Kort
Date: Fri, 19 May 1989 03:13
Date: Fri, 19 May 1989 03:13
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In article <1979@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> brianc@daedalus.UUCP (Brian Colfer) writes: > 1) No one can absolutely answer the question of whether > the human mind is completely determined. I disagree. I have a Value System, which I consult when making decisions. But occasionally I am caught on the razor's edge, with no clear preference between competing alternatives. Then, like Dorothy at the fork in road, I choose at random (rolling the dice if necessary). Literature is full of references to arbitrary choices. The short story, "The Lady or the Tiger?" and the parable of Buridan's Ass both speak to the dilemma of choosing between two alternatives with no clear preference. Casting lots is a venerable solution to such undetermined choices. > 2) Without this convincing evidence reasonable people can > reasonably disagree about this... Are you now convinced that at least one living mind is not completely determined? (Feel free to be reasonable, if you so choose.) --Barry Kort
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arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!bbn!apple!versatc!mips!prls!philabs!linus!mbunix!bwkReferences:
<10333@ihlpb.ATT.COM> <3850@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> <52019@linus.UUCP> <1309@lzfme.att.com> <1966@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> <528@orawest.UUCP> <1979@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu>Show Full Headers
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!bbn!apple!versatc!mips!prls!philabs!linus!mbunix!bwk From: bwk@mbunix.mitre.org (Barry W. Kort) Newsgroups: comp.ai Subject: Re: Free will and responsibility. Summary: My unpredictable nondeterministic method of making up my mind. Keywords: Buridan's Ass, Dorothy and the Scarecrow, The Lady or the Tiger? Message-ID: <53788@linus.UUCP> Date: 19 May 89 03:13:17 GMT References: <10333@ihlpb.ATT.COM> <3850@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> <52019@linus.UUCP> <1309@lzfme.att.com> <1966@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> <528@orawest.UUCP> <1979@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> Sender: news@linus.UUCP Reply-To: bwk@mbunix (Barry Kort) Organization: The Gallimaufrey, Atsea, UK Lines: 24