by BobbyS » July 26th, 2005, 10:59 am
In keeping with the past two posts, I'd agree that it's genetics, external influences and the levels of chemicals in your body. In fact, I believe as a result, there is no such thing as free will; this is known as determinism - everything in your life is pre-determined from birth. For example, some people are more aggressive due to say, a naturally higher level of testosterone production. One of these more aggressive people meets X. He is aggressive when X has a friendly joke at his expense, the person gets mad and torches his car. This person then gets put in jail for arson and misses out on taking up a high-paid job from X, if he had been more easygoing.
Or, for instance, you are tired after a busy day and cook yourself some supper, the 'choice' is a very spicy curry, or a pasta dish. After supper your partner arrives back from work, and wants to get intimate. If you ate the pasta, you'd say no - you're too tired, if you ate the curry, however, you'd say yes - spices are natural aphrodisiacs (okay, so it would have to be VERY potent, but you get the gist).
Thus, the first choice shows how genetics etc. shape destiny, the second how what seems a free choice is shaped by something else (even your choice of meal would have had a cause you wouldn't think twice about otherwise e.g. someone talking about their new fondness for curry).
These are extreme examples, I know, but you can see how 'insignificant' things can shape your life - what people consider free will is only what they believe to be a free choice. The fact that the curry person didn't have to have sex doesn't change the fact that he was going to.