This Weeks Patron Content - Free Will
Added 2024-01-30 23:31:20 +0000 UTCWe've been talking about free will a lot lately. This conversation is a follow-up to our interview with Robert Sapolsky.
This year we will record our 1000th episode...WTF. We've been making the show for 19 years. Have you looked at a picture of yourself from 19 years ago? I was almost a baby back then. We are planning something special to celebrate. I'll keep you all updated as things progress.
I choose to say that I hope all of you are doing well. Thanks for your support!
-Jay
Comments
Great video. I think one of the clearer discussions on an ambiguous topic. For me, the ability to alter the way we think is where agency exists. In skeptical terms, reframing my view; using the active to change the passive. For example: Instead of dieting and stopping when I reach the target, only to go back to what made me overweight, I change my perception and the way I interact food. When something is a taboo, our desire for it increases (often because of a subconscious "No one is going to tell me what to do" feeling), even if the restriction is self-imposed. Instead, I use moderation. I tell myself I don't need it now, but I can still enjoy it later. Fast food is tasty, but I view it through an unhealthy lens, instead opting for healthier options, like a wrap with fresher ingredients instead of a burger. But I'll still allow myself the odd burger. When I allow myself a treat, I opt for less, e.g. 1 cookie, and savor what I'm having rather then cramming in as much I can, e.g. 6 cookies and a supersize Reese's peanut butter cup. People bring in all kinds of treats at work, and I don't look at them with craving. I have one occasionally (when I was working Christmas day), then I'm good for a while. By moving certain food from must have to delayed reward, I lost 40 pounds in one year. By using science to look at the way I perceive things, I can actively alter the algorithm that I use. I use the high energy (active) state to make the change to how the low energy (passive) state functions. This conservation allows me to expend more energy on figuring out what I'm going to watch. (That's were free will freezes up, too much choice.) The longer I maintain it, the more habitual it will become, until it replaces that bottom-level, no-energy default state.
Asymetra
2024-01-31 21:33:51 +0000 UTCMy takeaway, especially after Jay’s association of it to critical thinking, was free will is a skill to be learned. It’s the same conclusion Daniel Dennett made in his debate with Sapolsky, which made me lean more on no free will. Ref: https://youtu.be/aYzFH8xqhns?si=y7-vaHd5uw7jSvWx
Vincent Tabirara
2024-01-31 18:40:09 +0000 UTCtaking about 19 years: meatballs is no longer a hyped topic. what happened?
Mikhail Goncharov
2024-01-31 05:37:48 +0000 UTCThanks for this. I'm largely in the "so what" camp but I appreciate Steve making the distinction between physical free will, neurological free will, and what we might call free decision making.
Jason Keene
2024-01-31 03:27:11 +0000 UTCBut do you believe in Free Willy?
Gary Reckard
2024-01-31 03:24:28 +0000 UTCThomas Nagel’s moral luck essay is a short and fun read on this topic.
Douglas De Young
2024-01-31 02:42:17 +0000 UTCI appreciate the clarification of the definition of free will, very helpful. Since I listened to the episode a couple of weeks ago, I’ve thought about this a lot!
Ann Foley
2024-01-31 01:31:45 +0000 UTCA lot of good discussion. Thanks
Dwight Smith
2024-01-31 00:27:58 +0000 UTC
