Quote (AEtheric @ Jul 21 2010 12:10am)
I can understand why people would think free will is an illusion, with determinism and all that, but I don't really see how one can sincerely believe that one doesn't have free will. How can one truly believe that one didn't have a choice in between picking an apple or an orange?
That's not what determinists are arguing over, if I'm not mistaken. I think they mean the general course of your life is predetermined. Like what occupation you choose. What you are interested in is largely influenced by friends and family.
I heard them using the analogy of "we're all rocks rolling down a mountain. Sometimes we bounce off of each other and it changes the direction we're going. But it doesn't change the fact that we're going down a hill." I think I'm leaving out a part here, but that's something I remembered.