Posted by jojo on November 4, 2001, at 22:18:45
In reply to Re: Depression and Free Will, posted by susan C on November 4, 2001, at 21:36:06
> > Has anyone found that the experience of incapacitating depression has changed their outlook regarding Free Will and Determinism?
>
> is Determinism the same as Fate? I cant remember my philosophy one o one
>
> mouse with a dip loam a
> susan CDeterminism means that everything has a cause
(except maybe God), that there's no "Susan"
someplace inside your head that "chooses" one
thing or another independently of all the
conditions that existed at the time of the
"choice". Its opposite, Free Will, means that
"all things being equal", you could have picked
(not imagined, but actually picked) "A" instead
of "B".How about this, by Ludwig Wittgenstein:
"What is troubling us is the tendency to believe
that the mind is like a little man within".I think that someone who believes that he has a
choice as to whether to be functional or not must
suffer a far greater amount of guilt, and therefor
of pain, than one who believes that he has been
unfortunate to have the wrong ratios of
neurotransmitters or their receptors on certain
neurons. That doesn't mean that he can give up
trying, because in some things the act of trying
appears to make a real difference, but as to
whether one is able to try enough, and overcome
the problem, is determined. Accepting
Determinism as your world outlook might keep you
from beating up on yourself so much.It reminds me of a John Cleese bit, where he says
something like "You make me puke, you disgusting
little turd. We all suffer the same, so quite
your winning and get up and do something for a
change!
poster:jojo
thread:13483
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20011025/msgs/13498.html