5HC : Skinner, Turing (fwd)

Chris · 07 Feb 2005, 10:47 · from 2005-February.txt.gz

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From: rasputin_ at hotmail.com (Chris)
Date: Mon Feb  7 10:47:25 2005
Subject: (urth) 5HC : Skinner, Turing (fwd)
In-Reply-To: <00f601c50d25$0b3faa80$4c1e4b0a at vcorp.ad.vrsn.com>
Message-ID: <BAY102-F7FEA24C93EC90CB51BFC886730 at phx.gbl>

Hume was actually a compatibilist, and believed in both free will and 
determinism. You really do choose whether or not to cheat on your spouse 
(and are thus responsible for that choice), but that choice is determined by 
your belief, character, and desires (which are in turn determined by other 
things). The freedom comes into play because, he says, if you *did* have 
different beliefs or desires you *could* have chosen differently.

I've never found this point of view to be particularly compelling, but 
perhaps there are people who could present it more convincingly.

Hume was, notoriously, stymied by the infamous Free Form Jazz Objection.

-- Civet

>Hmmm...seems like a pretty cynical philosophy. It works for all the choices
>people never have to make and begins to teeter when we consider all the 
>ones
>they do. How does it explain why people cheat on their spouses? How does it
>explain why they don't? How does it explain heroism and cowardice?
>Generosity and greed? Honesty and duplicity? How about twelve-step 
>programs?
>How does it explain listening to free-form jazz?
>
>~ Crush
>
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