this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2024
80 points (96.5% liked)

Asklemmy

43946 readers
720 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy ๐Ÿ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Have you went down any internet rabbit holes only to come out with a deep set existential crisis? If so, what are they?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Why do people always stop one step too short?

If there is no free will, the concepts of justice, blame, etc. still survive funtionally intact. If "chemical you" commits a crime, "you" are only not responsible if "you" is a metaphysical entity separate from (and that cannot control) the chemical you. But there's no evidence that "you" aren't simply the "chemical you", and therefore fully responsible for your crimes. If "you" are a metaphysical entity separate from the chemical you, then "you" do actually have free will.

This is only not true if the metaphysical you exists but cannot control the chemical you, which seems reasonable but like... you can move your arm right now, by willing it to be so. Either metaphysical you has free will, or your conscious experience is the chemical you. Either way, your conscious experience is either the same as or commands your physical form, and therefore is responsible for the actions that you take, and can be blamed and given justice.