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Does free will exist?

Well, if you define free will as the lack of a deterministic relationship between the input and output of a cognitive system, the latter could be seen as a device for doing just that.

Consider an ideal cognitive system as one with infinite self-knowledge. That is, the feedback loop would be instantaneous and able to be repeated an infinite number of times for each operation. Thus, its output would be a function of the input, the function being fed back through itself an infinite number of times. It would thus be impossible to predict the output.

A real world cognitive system can not reach infinity, thus it can not reach absolute free will, which is an ideal concept. But its output can only be predicted by a cognitive system more complex (intelligent) than it, thus in practice it could be said that it has free will from the perspective of cognitive systems simpler than it and no free will from the perspective of more complex systems.
 
Free will exists so long as one is free to physically do as they please, although their actions are casually determined according to past experiences and upbringing.

It's that simple.
 
^ and since actions are predetermined, the feeling that what we are choosing is "actually random/free" is an EMOTION/illusion that we FEEL

so free will is there, it's just an illusion. like saying, in a stereogram, the 3d cube is actually there
 
Consider an ideal cognitive system as one with infinite self-knowledge. That is, the feedback loop would be instantaneous and able to be repeated an infinite number of times for each operation. Thus, its output would be a function of the input, the function being fed back through itself an infinite number of times. It would thus be impossible to predict the output.
Click to expand...

Interesting thought experiment. I believe that it gets a bit too 'weird' to say much about free will though. Infinite self-knowledge would entail infinite knowledge on how the self engages the world, infinite self-other knowledge. We have all possible relationships/actions/etc. considered, even if hypothetically. We have all possible meta-consciousnesses, meta-meta-consciousnesses, etc. considered too.

Thus, we have a being encompassing all possible information in the universe. I don't see how it could 'do' much, as its informational state would be complete and exhaustive.

You might have also described a hypothetical god. ;)

ebola
 
qwe said:
^ and since actions are predetermined, the feeling that what we are choosing is "actually random/free" is an EMOTION/illusion that we FEEL

so free will is there, it's just an illusion. like saying, in a stereogram, the 3d cube is actually there
Click to expand...

Why is it that free will and destiny cant exist in harmony?
 
they sorta do. since we feel free will, but are destined to follow certain probable paths, at the same time

but true free will, and destiny, are mutually exclusive. because destiny implies unbreakable clockwork laws influencing your decision making process

we have "free will", but only because we "feel" free will. it's an emotion that makes it SEEM as if we are choosing--because that's just how our ego/mind works. but in reality, if you were to understand the workings of every piece of our information-exchanging network, each next state of the brain from the preceding state would be predictable, it'd be clockwork, and the free will feeling is misleading
 
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