Posted by thx3188 at 208.218.130.128 on June 19, 2000 at 19:44:31:
In Reply to: The meaning of free will & muses in "Dogma"? posted by Isis on June 19, 2000 at 18:36:13:
free will (fr wl)
n.
1.The ability or discretion to choose; free choice: chose to remain behind of my own free will.
2.The power, attributed especially to human beings, of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will.
Again, there's that specifying of the human aspect of this whole thing you mentioned earlier, Isis. It seems to me that there is a universal belief that anything not specifically human has no free will or decision making process, and that to question this belief is to throw the world into chaos.
Having made that observation, I am going to pose the question:
Are humans the only beings with free will? Don't animals have some kind of decision making process?
thx3188
I'm sure my cat was thinking about *something* when he found his way onto the roof the other day.
As an added bonus, here are the lyrics to the song "Freewill" by Rush, which I also hope will be somewhat informative:
"FREEWILL"
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
There are those who think that life
Has nothing left to chance
With a host of holy horrors
To direct our aimless dance
A planet of playthings
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
"The stars aren't aligned ---
Or the gods are malign"
Blame is better to give than receive
You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose free will
There are those who think that They've been dealt a losing hand
The cards were stacked against them ---
They weren't born in Lotus-Land
All preordained
A prisoner in chains
A victim of venomous fate
Kicked in the face
You can't pray for a place
In heaven's unearthly estate
Each of us
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt
That's far too fleet...