Even though I said I think that free will is an illusion - I don't really understand it. Which does piss me off because as muslim teenager thinking about free will and Allah knowing what we are going to do anyway I did rationalise using pascals wager, even though I didn't know that the dude who had a theorem (was it) also came up with this. Then no thoughts for years and years until I got broadband in 2008 lol, but think my brain is too frazzled to get my head round it - but I feel it is just there and I need to just grasp it.
Yes, talking to yourself, sign of madness. Just wanted to clarify something, when I say I tackled free will/predestination in Islam as a kid with independently obtained Pascals wager, what I meant was that I rationalised all of the troubling aspects of Islam by Pascals wager - the predestination/free will aspect was imagined as a video game - where you pass through different levels, but have a choice within that level, Allah knows which exit you will leave that level, but you had a choice whilst in that level, even though Allah knew what you were going to do, or summat familiar.
And when I say no thoughts for years and years, I obviously meant on the topic of free-will etc because evolution had killed Islam for me. Only to get on broadband and see that there are athiests with arguments for free-will being illusion.
Like I said I find this hard to understand.
On the one side - I believe in evolution, in those terms I have about as much free-will as a turtle, we all made up the same stuff, all biology and therefore think that even though we have consciousness (is consciousness free will/) it would be woo to think that this consciousness gives us free will.
And even if scientist have proven that our conscious thoughts are formed before we even know it, those decisions are still coming from me.
I spoke to a muslim - told him, what would he think if Islam was not true -he could not grasp it - he said life would be meaningless - would free will being an illusion be similarly difficult to grasp - because life would be meaningless.
So I had no free will in dumping my virtually perfect girlfriend (think Sade and Alesha Dixon), her perfection being that she thought I was the best looking guy in the world (lol far from it) her only flaw was the ditziness of Jamelia, which now would be fun and desirable, but back then after a few years...I dumped her because she was too good for me, told her go to London, some filthy rich man would cut off his left bollock for her..see the big city, enjoy - So I had no free will?
So all the other sliding door moments one has in life - no free will?
I do remember that at 16, in Pakistan, discussing free-will/predestination when I was still a muslim with my aunt. I had just arrived back home, it was hot, had a mango that I placed in the fridge and walked to a room with my aunt.
I say - Allah, will not stop me from having that mango.
Aunt - if it is written that you will have that mango, you will have it, if it isn't written - you won't have it.
Bollocks I thought - I placed it there, I would eat.
The upshot - I forgot about it, didn't eat it, till the next day.??
And one last thing, don't know how relevant this is -
When we are born, all our sphincters are involuntary, as toddlers we control our sphincters via our brain, so wee poo and pee voluntarily. The mind overrides matter (or not?), and if it can why not train your brains to control other involuntary aspects of bodily functions - is this over-riding consciousness?
What of will-power?
Topic: Say hello to Hell