>>3189I would admire you persistence, but it's very illogical.
There are no degrees of free-will. Either you can make choices as is, free from any and all factors or not.
I'm surprised you're taking a level 2 approach to this, I would expect a level 4 or more from such people.
If I was god and told you, you would drop your pen in 5 seconds and you chose not to, that is not free will. My telling you that you would drop your pen forced you to defy me.
Free will is done without factors and as such would mean that every person would make the same choice under any circumstance. The same exact choice every time. Now, unless the choice related things are completely irrelevant such as what to buy at a store an what time to build a house. I mean that if we all had free will and I put 1 million people in a room and put before them a 100 step puzzle, they would all take the same course of action because there is nothing influencing them to think differently then the rest.
Free will itself is a paradox. If I tell you to finish the puzzle, you will make a choice based on me saying it. If I said nothing and put a puzzle before you, you would "decide" what to do because of factors, such as brain architecture, chemical levels, and these would in turn influence your way of thinking and what choice you made.
There is no spectrum of free will, either you can make choices without influence from anything or not. But, to make choices without influence means that you're not making a choice at all. If there is nothing to influence you, why are you making a choice? If nothing makes do something, then that nothingness is why you are doing something.
I can understand your mindset of holding onto this and believing that we can change our lives and that we can shape what we are and become, but that's not true. Whether you choose to accept it or remain in denial does not change that free-will is impossible.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with Montalk on many points and believe in a Logos, but we all follow a code. It's like a computer code. We all abide by the formulas that govern this universe, if you think something breaks that law or is beyond limitations then you are wrong. Like in the Matrix (The movie), do you know why Neo and the rest were able to bend reality? Because it was programmed to allow them to. The machines could've chosen to only allow the Agents to have access to these powers, and I'm sure they are completely past any possible back-door, but they didn't. They allowed Neo to bend reality because it was programmed to allow him.
Montalk says that everything is cause and effect, I agree, but free will is not the cause. It all stems from the formulas that govern this universe. Lets say there is a formula that says "if a=nil (– Nil is the term for nothing) then b=true" (add in else b=false if you want to be technical) this is a rather simple snippet and the actual thing would be more complex, but this is layman's terms. Lets say "a" is the amount of matter in the space of the universe and b is a formula for creating matter. Then if there was no matter, the formula for matter would turn on to "create" more matter or at least a set amount as to abide by Newton's laws. It's all cause and effect. Continuing with this example, lets say that there is another line that says "if b=true then c=true" that would activate a script for the laws of physics, lets say. Once this is activated (I'm going to put in terms that you'll understand, I don't personally hold this next line true regarding a few things) then the universe is set into motion and the celestial bodies expand outwards, cosmic radiation happens, stars are birthed and destroyed. It's all cause and effect. The cause? One simple line. If you ran a computer program you would see the same. Under certain circumstances these set results will occur. That is how formulas work. I used to think that some things were so complex and "random" that we could never formulate them. This is true to an extent within our life-times.
The universe started from an intention/thought or a script. This intention/script started the chain of events. The demiurge is the computer and the Logos is the coder. You can curse the demiurge all you want because your life sucks and there are bad things happening, but who decided that these would be? The Logos. He decided what should and shouldn't be. If he had the ability to create all of these complex laws then he had the foresight to understand what each would do in the long run. Then there is the argument that the demiurge is corrupt or the computer has broken parts. Who is responsible for the maintenance? Normally IT, but in this case, the coder.
Now, this was for any anon interested in a breakdown of why free will does not exist. I doubt you read it, so I'm going to refute your one point in simple terms. If you become aware of the causes of your actions then that means your awareness to these actions influenced your choice to not be influenced by these actions. Even though that is the exact thing you just did. You were influenced by those same actions you didn't want to be influence by.
I drew you another picture because I think you need to stop being in denial. Let me break it down for you as if you were an alcoholic and I'm your AA instructor.
1. Accept that you're powerless to actually make decisions in this world
2. Believe that the logos has something good in store for you
3. Turn over your choices to the Logos and accept them as they come
4. Look within yourself and see your flaws and your good qualities
5. Admit you were influenced by everything
6. Be ready to accept whatever the logos has in store for you
7. Ask the Logos or whatever entity you want to help you (I recommend the Logos, but you can go to Moses's god if you want)
8. Be willing to be more open-minded and not driven by pity things
9. Be open-minded and be driven by your urge as a human bean
10. Take time to assess your life and the life anytime you can
11. Sought to live a life
12. Continue on the journey you were intended
Now, you can say that because of predetermination that you won't listen to these and that means you will continue doing what you're doing until something else comes along. Stating this is effectively killing my arguments, but I don't care. If you're truly destined for greatness, you "will make" the right choice.
