Free will, mind, and self

6:01 The Objectivist view of the mind: The conscious mind as volitional, the subconscious (or brain) as automatic. Thinking as volitional and emotion as automatic.

13:40 What exactly is volitional in a thinking process?

25:35 What’s the importance of being able to choose to focus or not?

51:05 Do we have a single, volitional mind/self? Sam Harris’ deterministic, “modular mind” view (as revealed through introspection/meditation).

1:16:18 What grounds are there—if any—for deciding to focus?

1:38:44 How to decide between two hypotheses that both purport to explain how the mind works: Hypothesis 1 - There’s no “why” that explains the primary choice to focus/think; Hypothesis 2 - There is a “why,” but it’s an unconscious occurrence in the brain. 1:47:28 Should one hypothesis be the default? The parallel to external world skepticism. Burden of proof and proving a negative.

1:59:48 Is free will at least an illusion—even if not real? Or is there not even an illusion of free will? Sam Harris.

2:11:06 My graduate research on free will and the philosophy of mind (aka the metaphysics of consciousness or the “mind-body problem”).

2:23:34 Discovering a new, mental force in nature.

Thanks to Shawn Silsbee for participating in this discussion!