You can take consolation from the fact that, no, your life actually couldn't have gone two ways—unless you believe in some quantum indeterminacy true randomness notion.
Yeah, I don't know how much I believe that our lives are already planned or not. I really just don't know. There are so many places where I made choices that deeply affected my outcomes. I'm sure most of us - at least those of us with some decades under our belt - know what I mean. I'm not sure that life is set for us without free will to manipulate it and the outcomes.
You have the common notion of free will, which is "I can make decisions", and that is correct. But you probably also believe in cause and effect, and that every effect has a cause which produces it necessarily.
. No way to escape it
I think that there is a lot of wiggle room on life outcomes. Larger things - like say this disease I have - is that planned in some sort of life plan beyond this existence? I don't know, I don't even know if I believe in anything beyond this existence. It's all hard to say. But I can tell you that I could live in many VERY different circumstances right now, and mostly believe, too, that my illness could've been avoided by different choices.You have the common notion of free will, which is "I can make decisions", and that is correct. But you probably also believe in cause and effect, and that every effect has a cause which produces it necessarily.
You can compare it to a vending machine. A vending machine also makes decisionsy albeit only very simple ones: if you press the coca cola button and haven't fed the machine enough money, it will decide not to give out a Coke; if you've thrown in enough money, it will give out a Coke and then, depending on how much money you've thrown in, it will make a decision whether it will give change, and if yes, how much change. All of these decisions are made autonomously by the machine, so you could say it is a somewhat free agent.
Now, you are no different. You can also make many different decisions; but you are not free in which decision you will make. For example, you think you have the choice of either staying seated in front of your computer right now, or to go to the fridge and get ice cream; OR, you could decide to jump out of the window of your tenth story appartment—or at least it seems to you that way. But in most cases, you can not make the decision to jump out of the window, unless the motivations (causes) are sufficiently strong to overpower all the other motivations (SI, comfort seeking, etc).
If I press you on it, you couldn't even define what you mean by free will, aside from saying you can make choices—which doesn't give you any more freedom than a (very complex) vending machine.
.
And if you wanted to demonstrate to me now, out of defiance, that you actually CAN decide to jump out of the window, well: then my challenging you and your anger at me were the cause of you jumping out of the window
Sure, I agree with the bit about different choices. It's just that you couldn't have made different choices. If you're going to place some notion of free will into a metaphysical realm, well I wouldn't agree with you, but you'd be in good company as many philosophers tried to save free will by such a move.
Yeah.. At times i also think about how lucky some are, some got good genes, born with rich parents, got the ability to learn fast and efficient, while some are born already sick with many bad cards.. its mostly based on luck, you can decide wether you start smoking or if you go drinking, but at the end its up to your genes, and epigenetics if this has an bad impact on you.
Primary Sjögrens Syndrome. Unfortunately severe. It's a disease that ALWAYS sucks, but can range from mild to debilitating. It can destroy your salivary, tear and exocrine glands as well as skin hair joints muscles lungs vasculitis neuropathy and Raynauds. Also gets in your brain sometimes like MS. I've got it all but vasculitis.
That doesn't sound like a fun time. I've just (skim) read the Wikipedia article on it and it doesn't mention life style choices as probable causes. Do you think this is wrong? asking because you've said you could have avoided it by making different choices.
It's an autoimmune disease. Probably genetically predisposed but they require a trigger, such as emotional stress, viral or bacterial triggers. I led a very stressful life 20-40, did not practice healthy habits, and had a terrible MRSA-like infection right where my salivary glands are that blew my face up like a bullfrog and likely set off the autoimmune. I do believe that if I had practiced better self - care, and also did not get that chin infection (I got it on a trip that I almost didn't go on), things would probably be different.
Yes would you like to hear? Born to deaf parents, raised very poor. History of mental problems in the family, first felt depressed in third grade became bulimic at 12 (mostly because of the depression), runaway at 17, was a Stripper age 19, and then from 22 to 23 to make money hated myself for it but had no other way to make money since I had chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
I'm sorry for you. It's not fair when you can't win if you try.
Yes, let the medical community burn.
You have the common notion of free will, which is "I can make decisions", and that is correct. But you probably also believe in cause and effect, and that every effect has a cause which produces it necessarily.
You can compare it to a vending machine. A vending machine also makes decisionsy albeit only very simple ones: if you press the coca cola button and haven't fed the machine enough money, it will decide not to give out a Coke; if you've thrown in enough money, it will give out a Coke and then, depending on how much money you've thrown in, it will make a decision whether it will give change, and if yes, how much change. All of these decisions are made autonomously by the machine, so you could say it is a somewhat free agent.
Now, you are no different. You can also make many different decisions; but you are not free in which decision you will make. For example, you think you have the choice of either staying seated in front of your computer right now, or to go to the fridge and get ice cream; OR, you could decide to jump out of the window of your tenth story appartment—or at least it seems to you that way. But in most cases, you can not make the decision to jump out of the window, unless the motivations (causes) are sufficiently strong to overpower all the other motivations (SI, comfort seeking, etc).
If I press you on it, you couldn't even define what you mean by free will, aside from saying you can make choices—which doesn't give you any more freedom than a (very complex) vending machine.
.
And if you wanted to demonstrate to me now, out of defiance, that you actually CAN decide to jump out of the window, well: then my challenging you and your anger at me were the cause of you jumping out of the window
Trusting them is what disabled me. After those evil vaccines my body was destroyed. Instantly affected my joints, and connective tissue, gave me brain encephalitis. My body has never been the same ever since. If I could just go back in time.
Yeah, I get dat.
