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Assuming we don't have free will, why do we have the illusion that we do? (slrpnk.net)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

132 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Three possibilities come to mind:

Is there an evolutionary purpose?

Does it arise as a consequence of our mental activities, a sort of side effect of our thinking?

Is it given a priori (something we have to think in order to think at all)?

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses! Just one thing I saw come up a few times I'd like to address: a lot of people are asking 'Why assume this?' The answer is: it's purely rhetorical! That said, I'm happy with a well thought-out 'I dispute the premiss' answer.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

What if you found out that free will is an inherently flawed concept and therefore impossible to conclusively obtain

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

if you found out that free will is an inherently flawed concept

I also cannot imagine finding out that the hole in my ass is bigger than I am.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

Then I have some bad news for you, about calculating the interior volume of a cylinder. You've got a lot of hole coiled up inside you