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From: gam@proper.UUCP (Gordon Moffett)
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Time and Free Will
Message-ID: <1472@proper.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 29-Jul-84 16:53:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: proper.1472
Posted: Sun Jul 29 16:53:11 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 30-Jul-84 01:36:04 EDT
References: <345@ism780.UUCP>
Organization: Proper UNIX, Oakland, CA
Lines: 36

> From: martin@ism780.UUCP (martin smith  INTERACTIVE Systems)
> 
> I think the principle of cause and effect is nothing more than identity.  That
> is, if A causes B, then A and B are the same.

Could you please explain how this works?

>                                           ...  Without the principle of cause
> and effect there is no determinism.

Absolutely!  Cause and effect is the underlying assumption of the
philosophy of science, and hence the scientific method.

>                                  ... In the picture below, I am standing on
> the X, forever in the present being bombarded with possible futures. I choose
> which future will become my past.
> 
>        Past                                         Present      Futures
> 
> 							<------------
> 	<--------------------------------------------X  <------------
> 							<------------
> 
> "And that's where free will comes from, Charlie Brown."  Having so said, Linus
> threw his blanky over his shoulder, planted his thumb firmly in his mouth, and
> prepared to withstand the hurricane he knew was coming.

Whoosh!  You have snuck in this concept of `future' and then boldly
claimed that you "choose which future will become my past."  How
have you shown that this choice (if there is in fact a choice) is
not the result of deterministic forces?
-- 

Gordon A. Moffett

{ hplabs!nsc, decvax!sun!amd, ihnp4!dual } !proper!gam