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SELF

A common vision of human                     Another common vision of
nature:                                      human nature:


We choose to do the                          The self is a product of
things we do.  The self is                   physical processes, it
responsible for actions.                     is determined by
                                             environmental and
Ideas are created inside of                  genetic inheritance.
the self.
                                             Ideas are the product of
Individuals must be given                    individuals circumstances
the credit they deserve                      and histories.
for having ideas.                            A reflection of the zeitgeist.
                                             Output is recycled input.
An idea that you create is
your property.                               Intellectual property
                                             must belong to society,
                                             for the benefit of society.



                     At a guess, everyone switches between
                     these two doctrines, whenever
                     it seems convenient.

                     Arguments based on them surface
                     continually, under many names:
                     "free will" vs. "determinism",
                     "justice" vs. "mercy"...

The first vision here, seems
to have little factual
basis.  How can an "idea" be
expected to magically emerge                The second vision, seems more
from a single mind, without                 "scientific", in that it postulates
reference to anything that                  some natural mechanism behind
has gone before?                            individual thought.  No
                                            mysticism here.
At best, this view seems to be
a reflection of our ignorance
of how the mind works.                      And yet, this view is
                                            disastrous wherever implemented.
And yet it seems necessary                  It undermines the incentive
for any functional system of                structure that keeps human
ethics.                                     society working.



                                      Note issue amongst libertarians:
                                      is alcoholism a "disease" (and
                                      hence the alcoholic is out
                                      of control, not responsible)
                                      or are they guilty of lapses
It's always seemed                    of self-control (people who
to me that free will                  need to take responsibility for
is something which is                 their actions).
experienced, rather
than an abstraction                                   ADDICTION
to be "proved".         FREEWILL
                                             	      BATESON

Side issue: environmentally or
genetically determined?  To some
extent it hardly matters: either
way it's still determinism.  The
perception that environmentally
determined things are easier to
change may be a misconception
(thou art Mrs. Grundy).  Would it             STRANGER
be better if human behavior were
random?  But it's interesting to
watch people manipulate the issue
as seems convenient.  E.g. racial
issues vs. sexual preference.


Further note: idea that
grounding humanity in
physical mechanisms
somehow demeans it.

   If love is just
   biochemistry, then it
   is worthless: "merely"
   physical, not
   spiritual.

   Alternate view:
   The soul considered as
   a complex pattern.
   (as opposed to mystical,
   vitalist notions).

                                April 17, 1992

If you drop the model of human behavior as being
goal-directed and rational, then what is it?  I mean, we
don't really create ideas within us, right? we don't really
"choose goals" though we talk as though we do.

The self is a node in an information network.
                                                         Or something
But what do you do with this vision?                     like that.

                                                         NODAL_SELF


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