Re: Einstein might have had a point

Dave wrote of freedom as

"a degree of freedom. from external constraint and compulsion"

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Well whoever thought of that one somehow imagined that we could be free
of genetic causes and of the causes from the environment in which we
exist. Absolute nonsense, I think.

Lance


Dave Smith wrote:
Lance wrote:
But surely he could not have wished to otherwise either. His wishes are
just as determined as his actions and intentions.


Yes. One form of freedom is to be allowed to behave as we wish, even
though what we wish has been determined. At the time of acting we have
a degree of freedom. from external constraint and compulsion. This is
what some philosophers mean by free will. Other philosophers mean by
the concept that some choices can be made by a person which are neither
'random' nor wholly caused by previous events and circumstances.
Personally, I don't find this latter interpretation intelligible.

.

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