[MD] Free Will

[david buchanan]

Steve said to dmb:
I'm sorry but it must be you who doesn't have a strong enough grasp on the ancient free will/determinism debate ... SOM free will/determinism is not about the presence or absence of choice. Of course we make choices. The SOM free will/determinism question is about the _basis_ of choice. It is to ask whether choices are objective or subjective.

dmb says:
Like I said, we simply cannot have an intelligent conversation on this topic unless and until you learn to use the terms properly. Until then your statements will continue to be nonsensical and so talking to you is quite pointless. At this point, the conversation has devolved to such a state that your position can be defeated by simply quoting a dictionary. Pirsig's description of the classic dilemma agrees with Seigfried, James, me, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the dictionary. And all of us disagree with you. 

determinism |diˈtərməˌnizəm|noun Philosophythe doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. Some philosophers have taken determinism to imply that individual human beings have no free will and cannot be held morally responsible for their actions.

Why do I have to overwhelm you with textual evidence on a point that can be settled by simply knowing what the terms mean? I shouldn't have to explain this to anyone and yet you remain unmoved by a mountain of evidence. 

I'm done with this. You're impossibly thick and I'm wasting my time.