8 Comments
User's avatar
rocknrollsailor's avatar

“…How does being free, to ask yrself if you are free, not answer itself …” (from a poem of mine, “inda noise of now”)

Expand full comment
Jem's avatar

I never said this was my podcast. I was merely keen to hear your take. It is from Sam Harris who is a very well known podcaster who has a very convincing stance on the top of free will

Expand full comment
Bernhard Kutzler's avatar

Thank you. Nice ...

Since you now know both perspectives on free will & you want my take on Sam's perspective, it is your turn to get me interested in Sam's perspective ...

Expand full comment
Jem's avatar

No worries. I love this topic...always creates a lot of tension 😅 as people have such strong opinions about it either way. Sam presents a counter perspective to you, that free will does not exist, and I personally find the reasoning more logically coherent than those in the defense of free will. One part I find interesting that he brings up here is how you cannot choose your next thought, and that thoughts appear rather than being driven by some kind of a central entity.

I have posted notes on this myself a few times on here going into more detail. However, there is still something missing in Sam's argument, which is the concept of why subjective experience is possible at all - like David Chalmers' point on the 'hard problem'. To me the brain is a Bayesian inference machine, meaning it is a prediction engine, and theories like the Free Energy Principle seem to be doing a good job of modelling this. However, the 'hard problem' of consciousness is still not being addressed by Sam here

Expand full comment
Bernhard Kutzler's avatar

I love this topic, too ... without any tension. I have my perspective, which is the result of over ten years of 24/7 self-exploration using a mathematical mind. Other people have other lives and, therefore, other perspectives.

I know the argument with thoughts. But this is based on the assumption that the brain produces thoughts. It does not! I provide my arguments in the following article:

“Thoughts are Not Products of the Brain”

(You are not what you have learned to be)

https://open.substack.com/pub/bernhardexplores/p/thoughts-are-not-products-of-the?r=3oqs68&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Here is my solution of Chalmer's Hard Problem of Consciousness:

"A Logical Solution to the Hard Problem of Consciousness"

(Pure logic led to a solution of striking simplicity and beauty - and an instruction manual for yourself)

https://medium.com/mind-cafe/a-logical-solution-to-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness-ae47b3b6dfc8

My full Theory of Mind is documented in my book

"Consciousness - It's Nature, Purpose, and How to Use It"

https://bernhardkutzler.com/books/

I've not yet documented my latest findings of explaining how EL/Mind brings forth the physical universe. For this, I propose an alternative to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics.

Expand full comment
Bernhard Kutzler's avatar

PS: As a testimonial for my competence in this subject, see my article

“Why I Socially Isolated Myself for 3.5 Years – and What Came Out of It”

(On the transformative power of being alone)

https://open.substack.com/pub/bernhardexplores/p/why-i-socially-isolated-myself-for?r=3oqs68&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Expand full comment
Jem's avatar

Interested to hear your thoughts after listening to this: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7zIKtXFs3k20U03AZ5CbtM?si=JiszKFP2TA-g3Oc-CoUQWg

Expand full comment
Bernhard Kutzler's avatar

If this is fishing for listeners, forget it.

If this is serious, tell me what my article did to you and WHY I should listen to your podcast.

Expand full comment