kane
Student
- Jun 26, 2020
- 171
When I think about the terrible decisions I've made as an adult, I can see their roots in the poor decisions I made as a child. Which, in turn, I can see as natural reactions of the kind of child I was to circumstances that I didn't understand. My question is: how was I supposed to do otherwise? If a child develops their disposition from some combination of genetics and upbringing, and then reacts to it's circumstances according to that disposition, which then alters that disposition, which dictates the choices of the adult, at what point does the freedom emerge to act in a different way? And where does that freedom come from?
We want to insist that bad people could be other than they are, and act contrary to how they've acted. I've never heard a convincing explanation of how that's supposed to happen. Magic, or God, or changing the subject. It would be nice to get it clear in my mind.
If bad people cannot be other than they are, then we would be forced to confront the idea that ultimately, the world/reality made them bad. That the world necessarily contains evil within it. Not just the possibility of evil. But the actuality of it. And perhaps that's terrifying, because what kind of a just creator would create evil? And what if all it takes to create evil is the right circumstances and the right genetic disposition? Then any of us could be dropped in that position.
Not really interested in debating differing definitions/compatibilism - I'm more looking for an explanation of how anyone could turn out differently to how they actually turn out, and how they themselves can be the ultimate source of that. For example, if your answer is 'quantum randomness', how is that within the individual's control? To phrase it differently, how can anyone be uncaused by forces beyond themselves, and hence the ultimate creator of themselves?
We want to insist that bad people could be other than they are, and act contrary to how they've acted. I've never heard a convincing explanation of how that's supposed to happen. Magic, or God, or changing the subject. It would be nice to get it clear in my mind.
If bad people cannot be other than they are, then we would be forced to confront the idea that ultimately, the world/reality made them bad. That the world necessarily contains evil within it. Not just the possibility of evil. But the actuality of it. And perhaps that's terrifying, because what kind of a just creator would create evil? And what if all it takes to create evil is the right circumstances and the right genetic disposition? Then any of us could be dropped in that position.
Not really interested in debating differing definitions/compatibilism - I'm more looking for an explanation of how anyone could turn out differently to how they actually turn out, and how they themselves can be the ultimate source of that. For example, if your answer is 'quantum randomness', how is that within the individual's control? To phrase it differently, how can anyone be uncaused by forces beyond themselves, and hence the ultimate creator of themselves?