The idea of “free will” probably best approximates “deliberate, unforced decision-making in a typical mental state”, in the sense that someone who twitches doesn’t do it of their “free will” and neither does someone who wanders miles away in a sudden fugue. On Newcomb’s Problem, someone can be meaningfully said to have decided whether to one-box or two-box “of their own free will” even if Omega’s ability to predict their action means that their decision wasn’t uncausedly “free”.
This especially the phrase “deliberate, unforced decision-making in a typical mental state” seems very similar to what I meant when I wrote “properly functioning brain”.
I should have put more emphasis on the point in the second paragraph in conjunction with question two a bit more. Perhaps we can, even in moments of sloppy thinking, shed inappropriate cached thoughts and get a good and intuitive definition of free will but how long would we need to explain for example the above formulation rather than just explaining to someone in what way “free will” is a fallacy.
Question 2. might be reformulated as: Will spreading this meme raise the general sanity waterline?
The idea of “free will” probably best approximates “deliberate, unforced decision-making in a typical mental state”, in the sense that someone who twitches doesn’t do it of their “free will” and neither does someone who wanders miles away in a sudden fugue. On Newcomb’s Problem, someone can be meaningfully said to have decided whether to one-box or two-box “of their own free will” even if Omega’s ability to predict their action means that their decision wasn’t uncausedly “free”.
This especially the phrase “deliberate, unforced decision-making in a typical mental state” seems very similar to what I meant when I wrote “properly functioning brain”.
I should have put more emphasis on the point in the second paragraph in conjunction with question two a bit more. Perhaps we can, even in moments of sloppy thinking, shed inappropriate cached thoughts and get a good and intuitive definition of free will but how long would we need to explain for example the above formulation rather than just explaining to someone in what way “free will” is a fallacy.
Question 2. might be reformulated as: Will spreading this meme raise the general sanity waterline?
Isn’t “you” a fallacy in essentially the same way that “free will” is? But it, like free will, can be a rather useful shortcut.