Pop Culture and Philosophy 3: "A study in...." (Midterm by David Jameson)

So maybe this isn’t Pop Culture but im extremely interested in the debate about free will. In this article I will try and play devil’s advocate with both the idea that what you do is based on the social atmosphere at the time of the event and in your past, and that you control every move and every decision you make. First we’ll talk about free will through the eyes of someone who believes that it does exist.

                

     This person probably believes that they are openly able to believe what they want and do what they want…. However one cannot deny that they are at least somewhat influenced by the world around them. Someone raised in a strict Christian household as a child will believe that gay marriage is a mockery of God and that abortion is murder. Now other people can feel this way, but Christians are the usual target of the stereotype. So when they get pregnant but does not think they are ready for a baby, they will say that they could not dream of aborting their child no matter how much they cannot support it because they feel it is against God. Did they just practice free will by choosing to keep the baby or did their solid Christian upbringing change the opportunities presented to them in their mind and they just did as they were commanded. Sam Harris would say that this scenario is the perfect example of how a person’s social surroundings will keyhole their thoughts and actions and make them unable to make choices based on the outcome instead of situations.

                On the opposite side you have Philosophers like Spinoza who was a determinist which states that “He believed that every human action was the result of earlier causes”(A Little History of Philosophy). An example of this theory is that say when you were 20 years old you found a Zippo lighter, you learned to do tricks  and impress the people around you. Then on a hot sunny day you get in your car and drive….with your zippo in your back pocket. After an hour, your ass begins to burn with the intensity of a thousand suns all because the lighter fluid has now leaked out of the lighter, and is slowly burning the skin off of your backside. This is a learned experience. 1 week later, on an equally as hot day you jump in your car but this time you make sure to take it out of your back pocket and keep it as far away from your still healing ass as you possibly can. Did you make this decision strictly on your own? NO, the previous experience showed you what not to do and narrowed don’t the choices in your mind. Therefore the thought to take the lighter out of your pocket was not free will it was simply you not wanting a similar outcome.

Now, an argument I have for people who believe this is that say Im having a really bad day and I see this dog on the sidewalk, I have choices. Do I

a.)    Walk past the dog

b.)    Stop and pet the dog

c.)     Pick up dog and claim as your own Property

d.)    Kick the living sh*t out of it and continue walking

Normally you would just choose a or b, because your prefrontal cortex tells you that stealing and punting dogs like footballs are bad choices. I can choose to go against my inhibition and kick the dog, am I not making a conscious decision to go against my prefrontal cortex which is there for specifically these types of situations.

by the way, if you don't watch Sherlock.... You really should 

I understand that there is no right or wrong answer but I see this as one of the more interesting discussions we have had in class. I know people who do very unconventional things and make me believe in free will more than any example could. To tie this in to Pop Culture somehow, I’ll admit the only character that I can really see fitting the mold of free will would the Sherlock Holmes. Because it’s the usual is the exact reason why you should stay away from it; Someone who has to think one step ahead of the bad guy and possibly one step ahead of himself. Would be interested if anyone else can think about a fictional character that practices free will. If you do comment cause I would be very curious what you have to say.