Recent content by Blindwatchmaker

Agree. Of course these course corrections can only happen once someone is convinced that they are required, that the formulation is on point, that something ought to change. Believing these things happens as a result of being convinced by/of them.

Thanks Muhammad I think I mis-spoke actually. What I should have said is that our deeds can only influence the likelihood of certain beliefs (not that they play no role at all. ) You can choose to read certain books or listen to certain people for example and those deeds may increase the...

EXACTLY.

Yes. Our beliefs often (maybe even always) shape and influence our actions. But the causality here only runs one way. We can choose to orient ourselves towards certain beliefs but ultimately whether or not we find something convincing is not a matter of choice.

Beautifully written.

Again, I would gently push back on this. She found your words convincing or plausible enough to tentatively accept them. If you had said different words, or she had been differently inclined, that may not have happened. I'm not saying that belief implies certainty. Just that the ability to...

This is correct. In this way some people can be more easily convinced of new ideas than others. This is how minds are changed and is the basis of all persuasion. But whether this happens is not a matter of choice. It's a matter of whether or not they find those ideas persuasive.

If free will exists then it would determine what we choose to DO but not what we find convincing or persuasive.

She didn't choose to believe what you said. Your words convinced her it was true and belief followed automatically from that. That's how belief works. PERSUASION --> CONVICTION ---> BELIEF LACK OF PERSUASION -->LACK OF CONVICTION--> DISBELIEF

If you'll indulge (forgive?) me, I'd like to paste a short section from my book on this topic: ------ Think of the last time someone tried to persuade you of something you just couldn’t accept. Maybe it was a conspiracy theory. Maybe it was a friend’s insistence that a mutual acquaintance had...

Thank you for such a thoughtful reply Thomas. Much appreciated.

Hi OtherBrother, Thanks for your thoughtful and evocative reply. I really appreciate the way you're weaving together ideas from Pascal, Piaget, and your own creative reflections. There’s something deeply important in what you’re pointing to: the ability we have to challenge our assumptions, to...

As I’ve said before, I’m not arguing that we’re deterministic robots with no free will. I do think determinism has serious philosophical support and deserves to be taken seriously—but even if we set that aside and assume full libertarian free will, my core point still stands: Belief isn’t a...

For clarity, my argument doesn't require the rejection of all free will. .I think those arguments have some merit and are interesting but for this one, I'm happy to concede that we have libertarian free will. But it's still the case that belief can only happen when you are convinced of something...

Many thanks Rocala!