Or is psychology just not credible enough? To quote Boopie, "The brain is a physical thing just like our bodies. It is subject to automatic actions like that of a person with Tourette's syndrome. The classic case of Phineas Gage proved that physical trauma to the brain can completely change their personality. Did he not have a soul that could allow him to maintain his pleasant disposition? Obviously there is no soul. This is not extreme determinism, only the fact that our behavior is beyond the control of the conscious mind."
2006-10-03 14:46:03 · 13 answers · asked by Xo 1 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
You only chose not to proove it because you made a reaction based off your personality. Did you choose your personality b i t c h?
2006-10-03 15:00:34 · update #1
If that is not extreme determinism, then Boopie doesn't believe in cause and effect. If your actions and behaviors are determined solely by your physical brain, and if everything that happens to your brain has a cause, then that's practically the definition of determinism. Have you ever read A Clockwork Orange? It's not quite the same thing, but it raises the issue of freewill.
2006-10-03 14:58:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
People have changed without massive head trauma, what does that prove? Behavior change tied to a physical event does not prove the non-existence of a "soul". The interesting thing about trying to prove that something does not exist, is that you have to be able to define it well enough to be able to show that nothing exists which matches that definition. How would you define the soul? In the case of free will, you would have to be able to prove that you can create circumstances under which you can determine the actions of a person 100% of the time - in other words, you have to know the person well enough to prove that you know how the physical interactions in their brain are going to respond to outside stimulation to produce a predictable behavior. And not just a behavior but a thought pattern. You would also have to prove that you can determine the paths of a persons thought.
2006-10-03 22:02:08 · answer #2 · answered by sterno73 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Freewill does exist. Try making a 5 year old eat her vegetables. I find them crushed up under the chair. I can't will her to eat them if she hates them and she won't eat them because it is her own will that she doesn't want to eat them. However, you can get sneaky and give her pediasure to make sure she gets her vitamins. What I'm saying is that she has the freewill to eat or not to eat her vegetables. She'll do what she wants just like everyone on this earth. Freewill means you have a choice of things to do. And you prove it every day with the choices that you make.
2006-10-10 05:59:32 · answer #3 · answered by greylady 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a great intellectual argument, but regardless of a change in personality, there is freedom to choose. It's all about what we learn here before progressing, and those lessons are often painful trials--including imperfect bodies and brains. Only God knows the relative progression of our soul because He created it. He knows us on a molecular level--and beyond. It is quite possible that "Determinism" is a foregone conclusion to God, but that our experiences prove to ourselves what we are capable of. Think about it.
2006-10-03 22:04:33 · answer #4 · answered by Helpful Kim 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Obviously? Hardly. Psychology is not scientific. It works in the realm of the ephemeral. It is treatment for the soul. Or do you feel that the soul could help keep a heart attack victim's heart continue to beat? Or make a blind man see. Amazing grace and all that...
2006-10-03 21:59:14 · answer #5 · answered by jaensor 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess you didn't have freewill to quote this Boopie person, then.
So, I don't have the freewill to act stupid and post a dumb answer. Wow, that stinks.
2006-10-03 21:56:41 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
its not proveable but its argueable. the arguement is that we are drivin by need and urges (repraduction as one) and that we have organisms inside of us that affect our decisions (such as how a dog with rabies has the urge to bite ppl, the viris makes the dog this way so it can spread to other host) thats how it is with all of nature. the other side is that we can make our own choices and thats that. we can kill ourselves and w/e organisms inside of us cant stop us. its a very..complicated debate.
2006-10-03 23:00:59 · answer #7 · answered by dylanroldan99 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Free Willy does exist I saw the Movie!
2006-10-03 21:56:21 · answer #8 · answered by Bohemian 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe it is that he had the free will to retain his pleasant demeanor, but chose not to. Therefore it proves nothing.
2006-10-03 21:55:44 · answer #9 · answered by Grev 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't prove it. For every argument there is an equal and opposite dissagreement.
2006-10-03 22:02:19 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋