Friday 28 February 2014
Round up
Since moving skreeworld blog has been on the back burner to some extent. I think of subjects to write about but seldom have time to develope the ideas to passable level. I try to keep the photography coming as, in essence, skreeworld Is my pictorial journey, what I see along the way. Woodwork wise things are going well and next week hope to get my head down so things move a little faster. As yet the visions are in my head and on paper only. The components of a large, powerhouse of a bookcase are underway and this should begin to take form soon. A desk to go with the maple office is going through early design stages and looks very promising.
My philosophy writing has frozen off for a while. These things seem to undergo a largely subconscious gestation period before flowering out in to words or blog posts. The issues that interest me are under constant appraisal and restructuring. A recent debate that began with Sam Harris' 'Free Will' mini book has inspired a rather pompous review from Daniel dennet. It is healthy that two freinds, both out spoken atheists should put their intellectual tennis out there for us all to read.
For me the issue is quite simple and this means that perhaps both are right. Because all decisions originate from electrical and chemical processes within our skulls that we are unaware of and have no control over, there is no real way we can have free will. It would require dualism. A soul. A homunculus taking in all this input through our various sensory apparatus. Working feverishly through all the data and making decisions based on his opinions.
Yet in some kind of folk knowledge way we experience free will. We feel we ought to reward charitable do gooders and punish nasty folk who choose to do horrible things to other people. For most, this view, that we ought to ignore those high brow intellectuals with their weird science and stick to good old fashioned common sense, dominates. This is the world we live in. Look at our courts. Once you accept that we have no free will the world begins to make a lot more sense. Stop judging people so much. We can improve ourselves through training. As obese people have to, as addicts have to. Most people with morally acceptable habits never have to undergo these near spiritual transformations. And it is these people who have had the ability to retrain their behaviour who deserve our deepest respect.
In more personal matters I have moved to a new house with an open fire. I have a partner and we've taken on a new dog. A husky shepherd cross. So much energy it is unreal. My recent return to altering my consciousness can not continue. Dogs have no time for hangovers.
My philosophy writing has frozen off for a while. These things seem to undergo a largely subconscious gestation period before flowering out in to words or blog posts. The issues that interest me are under constant appraisal and restructuring. A recent debate that began with Sam Harris' 'Free Will' mini book has inspired a rather pompous review from Daniel dennet. It is healthy that two freinds, both out spoken atheists should put their intellectual tennis out there for us all to read.
For me the issue is quite simple and this means that perhaps both are right. Because all decisions originate from electrical and chemical processes within our skulls that we are unaware of and have no control over, there is no real way we can have free will. It would require dualism. A soul. A homunculus taking in all this input through our various sensory apparatus. Working feverishly through all the data and making decisions based on his opinions.
Yet in some kind of folk knowledge way we experience free will. We feel we ought to reward charitable do gooders and punish nasty folk who choose to do horrible things to other people. For most, this view, that we ought to ignore those high brow intellectuals with their weird science and stick to good old fashioned common sense, dominates. This is the world we live in. Look at our courts. Once you accept that we have no free will the world begins to make a lot more sense. Stop judging people so much. We can improve ourselves through training. As obese people have to, as addicts have to. Most people with morally acceptable habits never have to undergo these near spiritual transformations. And it is these people who have had the ability to retrain their behaviour who deserve our deepest respect.
In more personal matters I have moved to a new house with an open fire. I have a partner and we've taken on a new dog. A husky shepherd cross. So much energy it is unreal. My recent return to altering my consciousness can not continue. Dogs have no time for hangovers.
Tuesday 25 February 2014
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