Added this to the first bits of my page on Free Will (www.humantruth.info/free_will.html):

“Nisbett and Wilson (1977) go so far as to claim that all psychological activities (including social behaviour) are governed by processes of which we are unaware. [...] Emotions can occur with rapid onset, through automatic appraisal, with little awareness and with involuntary changes in expression and physiology; indeed, we often experience emotions as happening to us rather than chosen by us. [...]

Apart from Freud [...] probably the most outspoken person advocate of the view that the person is not free is Skinner. In Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971) he argues that behavioural freedom is an illusion. Just as Freud believed that freedom is an illusion to the extent that we are unaware of the unconscious causes of our feelings and behaviours, so Skinner claimed that it is only because the causes of human behaviour are often hidden from us in the environment that the myth or illusion of free will survives.”

"Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour" by Richard Gross, p75, 121 & 875

It follows commentary by other scientists on free will... I'm reading Dawkins' new book at the moment, and he makes some great comments on free will, so when I've finished The God Delusion I will be adding some more to this page again.

Tags: determinism, free will, freud, psychology, skinner
Current Location: Germany
Listening To: "Driven like the snow" by the Sisters of Mercy

In the 30 minutes between 02:02 and 02:32 I jogged 3.2 miles... which works out as 9 minutes 23seconds per mile over three miles. My aim is, tomorrow, to do 2 miles in 16 minutes.

I didn't go to Sluts meet today, I slept in late and decided to instead cook a large quantity of rice, chicken, onion, herbs and oysters, drink coffee and play Warcraft 3. I'm completely nocturnal at the moment.

I'm reading a book on Lenin, Stalin, Hitler and other dictatorships between 1918-1945. The blurb on the back states that in the early 1920s most of Europe's 28 states could be described as parliamentary democracies, but by 1941 only 5 remained intact. By 1938 16 of them had succombed to dictatorships!
Oh... a random page on Satanism & Dictatorships: http://www.dpjs.co.uk/democracy.html
Fascinating period of history... it was a world of faulty idealism! One which the USA government hasn't managed to emerge from yet!

Another book I'm reading is Josephus' 'The Jewish War', first century history... another generally interesting period of history. Josephus made many sensible choices in his life, and the way people tend to rise and follow any old leader seems to be just as prevalent 2000 years ago as it is now... mindless sheep, that's what people are!

"In the depths of my heart, I can't help
being convinced that my fellow men, with
a few exceptions, are worthless."
- Sigmund Freud

I love feeling fit, strong and intelligent! I just wish I was as fit as my role models (say, a rather robust demon from hell...), or as useful/productive/relentless as Nietzsche or any of the greats of history. Endlessly qualified people! I want to be like them!

Tags: books, dictatorships, fascism, fitness, freud, jogging, josephus, sluts, world war 2
Current Mood: happy