Free Will
This post is coming a couple hours later than I intended it. I've been pretty caught up in playing FF VII lately. Also before I get into this I would like to say I don't really like to proof read the things I write, my grammar probably isn't the best, and I may at times arrange my thoughts in odd ways... so deal with it. I would also like to say that Sam Adams Cream Stout is very tasty and even more enjoyable than Boston Lager.
My personal philosophies have been heavily influenced by my research into the psychology of personality.
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You are the sum of your personality traits. These have been mostly established at a young age based on genetics and how you were raised. These traits do not change easily and not without a strong stimulus. Each of these traits is a sliding scale, one example being passive-assertive-aggressive. In any given decision, the relevant traits will be what actually decides. Take a $5 bet to run out in the snow naked for example. To do this you would have to value the money enough, be adventurous, outgoing, unashamed, and not mind the cold. Everyone has all of these traits but at different levels. If these traits reach the required threshold, then you will run outside (and possibly injure yourself when you realize that snow can be dangerous when you are naked). If it is borderline then maybe your susceptibility to peer pressure will be enough to push it over the edge. It could be a difficult decision, but if you just are too shy or hate the cold too much then you aren't going to do it. The short of it is, any action you take is based on who you are, you are your personality traits, personality traits are quantifiable, and therefore so are you. It isn't you that is making any particular decision but the circumstances of your life up to that point that crafted your personality.
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This is just one my thoughts on free will and certainly isn't what I regard as true. It's just one of them that I had thought on the most. I decided to restrict this post to just this one viewpoint, although I might include more through out the discussion (if one actually occurs) or in a future post. I would like to leave Christian thought out of this topic as I am aware of the importance of free will in Christian doctrine. I have a future post planned regarding free will and being saved so it will certainly be covered later.
Feel free to pick apart my ideas, submit your own, or tell me I'm as correct on this topic as any person could possibly be. I'm just curious to hear what other people think about this and would like my own ideas to evolve as a result.
And lastly I would just like to add that this is probably one of the less deep posts I will be making but I thought it would be nice to start out slowly.
My personal philosophies have been heavily influenced by my research into the psychology of personality.
_____________________________
You are the sum of your personality traits. These have been mostly established at a young age based on genetics and how you were raised. These traits do not change easily and not without a strong stimulus. Each of these traits is a sliding scale, one example being passive-assertive-aggressive. In any given decision, the relevant traits will be what actually decides. Take a $5 bet to run out in the snow naked for example. To do this you would have to value the money enough, be adventurous, outgoing, unashamed, and not mind the cold. Everyone has all of these traits but at different levels. If these traits reach the required threshold, then you will run outside (and possibly injure yourself when you realize that snow can be dangerous when you are naked). If it is borderline then maybe your susceptibility to peer pressure will be enough to push it over the edge. It could be a difficult decision, but if you just are too shy or hate the cold too much then you aren't going to do it. The short of it is, any action you take is based on who you are, you are your personality traits, personality traits are quantifiable, and therefore so are you. It isn't you that is making any particular decision but the circumstances of your life up to that point that crafted your personality.
_____________________________
This is just one my thoughts on free will and certainly isn't what I regard as true. It's just one of them that I had thought on the most. I decided to restrict this post to just this one viewpoint, although I might include more through out the discussion (if one actually occurs) or in a future post. I would like to leave Christian thought out of this topic as I am aware of the importance of free will in Christian doctrine. I have a future post planned regarding free will and being saved so it will certainly be covered later.
Feel free to pick apart my ideas, submit your own, or tell me I'm as correct on this topic as any person could possibly be. I'm just curious to hear what other people think about this and would like my own ideas to evolve as a result.
And lastly I would just like to add that this is probably one of the less deep posts I will be making but I thought it would be nice to start out slowly.