Guest guest Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 Can somebody enlighten me on “Free will� Regards Sanjeev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 " Free Will " is very broad. What specifically is your question? , rohri mani <rohri_mani wrote: > > > > Can somebody enlighten me on “Free will� > > Regards > Sanjeev > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 rohri mani wrote: > > > > > Can somebody enlighten me on “Free will� > > Regards > Sanjeev > -------------- Free will is the notion that you exist as a separated individuated entity possessing the power of independent volition, through which you believe that it is you who thought the thought that has appeared, it is you who chose the decision that got to be chosen, it is you who acted the action which unfolded as the moment. Ergo, the other side of the coin of free will is the notion that you are responsible for whatever is happening to you, as a consequence of the actions of your free will. A fundamental notion...........out of which all other notions get to be created. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will Free will raises the question whether, and in what sense, rational agents exercise control over their actions, decisions, choices. Addressing this question requires understanding the relationship between freedom and cause, and determining whether the laws of nature are causally deterministic. The various philosophical positions taken differ on whether all events are determined or not — determinism versus indeterminism — and also on whether freedom can coexist with determinism or not — compatibilism versus incompatibilism. So, for instance, 'hard determinists' are incompatibilists who argue that the universe is deterministic, and that this makes free will impossible. Libertarians are also incompatibilists. They believe that free will exists and strict causal determinism is false. Their problem is to reconcile free will with chance or indeterminism, which threatens to make actions random. The principle of free will has religious, ethical, and scientific implications. For example, in the religious realm, free will implies that an omnipotent divinity does not assert its power over individual will and choices. In ethics, it implies that individuals can be held morally accountable for their actions. The question of free will has been a central issue since the beginning of philosophical thought. ..... .... ... http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06259a.htm The question of free will, moral liberty, or the liberum arbitrium of the Schoolmen, ranks amongst the three or four most important philosophical problems of all time. It ramifies into ethics, theology, metaphysics, and psychology. The view adopted in response to it will determine a man's position in regard to the most momentous issues that present themselves to the human mind. On the one hand, does man possess genuine moral freedom, power of real choice, true ability to determine the course of his thoughts and volitions, to decide which motives shall prevail within his mind, to modify and mould his own character? Or, on the other, are man's thoughts and volitions, his character and external actions, all merely the inevitable outcome of his circumstances? Are they all inexorably predetermined in every detail along rigid lines by events of the past, over which he himself has had no sort of control? This is the real import of the free-will problem. .... ... .. http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/V014 'Free will' is the conventional name of a topic that is best discussed without reference to the will. Its central questions are 'What is it to act (or choose) freely?', and 'What is it to be morally responsible for one's actions (or choices)?' These two questions are closely connected, for freedom of action is necessary for moral responsibility, even if it is not sufficient. Philosophers give very different answers to these questions, hence also to two more specific questions about ourselves: (1) Are we free agents? and (2) Can we be morally responsible for what we do? Answers to (1) and (2) range from 'Yes, Yes' to 'No, No' - via 'Yes, No' and various degrees of 'Perhaps', 'Possibly', and 'In a sense'. (The fourth pair of outright answers, 'No, Yes', is rare, but appears to be accepted by some Protestants.) Prominent among the 'Yes, Yes' sayers are the compatibilists, who hold that free will is compatible with determinism. Briefly, determinism is the view that everything that happens is necessitated by what has already gone before, in such a way that nothing can happen otherwise than it does. According to compatibilists, freedom is compatible with determinism because freedom is essentially just a matter of not being constrained or hindered in certain ways when one acts or chooses. Thus normal adult human beings in normal circumstances are able to act and choose freely. No one is holding a gun to their heads. They are not drugged, or in chains, or subject to a psychological compulsion. They are therefore wholly free to choose and act even if their whole physical and psychological make-up is entirely determined by things for which they are in no way ultimately responsible - starting with their genetic inheritance and early upbringing. ..... .... ... http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/freewill1.html Ambiguous figures, of which the Serendip logo (circa 1994-95) is one example, make possible some interesting observations bearing on the existence and meaning of " free will " . In most people's minds, " free will " has two relatively distinct properties. The first is the idea that what one does is in some sense " free " , that is " not determined by something else " . The second is the idea that one can onself control what one does. ..... .... ... On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 8:17 AM, Gurubuster <fanatofida wrote: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Thank you Sreekumarji and others for the feed back on free will. However, i would like to know more on hindu view on this subject. With regards Sanjeev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Here's an article from Hinduism Today: http://www.beliefnet.com/Holistic-Living/Astrology/2002/03/Karma-Free-Will-And-D\ estiny.aspx Bear in mind that there typically isn't one canonical Hindu view on any given subject. , rohri mani <rohri_mani wrote: > > i would like to know more on hindu view on this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thanks for posting that! I really needed to read it today... Two questions: 1) Is astrology a part of Hinduism? I always thought it grew separately from the religion, even though many link the two. 2) Growing up in a Hindu household (see above question), I've been to my share of astrologers. I love astrology, studying it, etc. but I was very turned off by it when I was in college. I've found that Indian astrologers use horrible scare tactics (e.g. if you don't start wearing a blue sapphire next month, you'll be in a horrible car accident) to manipulate people. None of them, in my experience, even begin to explore the psychological aspects of astrology. And if you're a woman, most of these astrologers (who are almost always older men) assume that getting married quickly is the only thing you care about. I find that Western astrologers delve more into the psychological aspects of astrology, and are generally more positive in their dealings. At the same time, I've found that Western astrologers are not detailed/confident enough when giving info. So, what it boils down to is this. I would love to find a good astrologer (I live in the New York/New Jersey area), but can't seem to do so. Any recommendations? Salma , " msbauju " <msbauju wrote: > > Here's an article from Hinduism Today: > > http://www.beliefnet.com/Holistic-Living/Astrology/2002/03/Karma-Free-Will-And-D\ estiny.aspx > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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