It's a really simple experiment:
- Try to choose what to think, before you think it.
In other words, see if you can choose exactly what you are going to think before the thought is actually there in your mind.
You can't do it.
Suppose that in 10 seconds' time, Fred Bloggs is going to decide to get up and make a cup of tea - The thought isn't in his head right now, and he can't decide to start thinking about making a cup of tea before he actually *does* think about it, because he would already have to be thinking about the thought of making a cup of tea in order to decide to think it.
So, it seems clear to me that it's impossible to decide what you're going to think before you're actually thinking it. Thoughts come into your mind unbidden, and you cannot control or choose what your very next thought will be.
If we can't choose our thoughts, then we can't choose our conscious actions either, and if we can't choose our actions then there is no free will.
Thoughts?
2006-10-11
06:06:03
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26 answers
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asked by
Anonymous