"These findings*
(of our research) are difficult to reconcile with the sense that we
are the conscious authors of
our actions.
One fact now seems indisputable: some moments before you are aware of
what you will do next - a time in which you subjectively appear to
have
complete freedom
to behave however you please -
your brain
has already determined what you will do. You then become conscious of
this 'decision' and
believe
that you are in the process of making it."
... Samuel Benjamin "Sam" Harris PhD, neuroscientist,
Free Will
I have two
questions
to ask you. One, how much of your life do you control? A lot of it? A
little? Some of it? How much of your life exactly do you
control? Two, how much of your life is
on automatic?
Some of it? A little? A lot of it? How much of your life exactly is
on automatic?
Let's inquire into this together:
Your fingernails,
your hair. Nothing you do makes
your fingernails
or your hair grow. They just grow. You have no control. The process is
automatic.
Your digestion. You have no idea what's happening with
your breakfast
right now as it's being digested. You have no control. The process is
fully
automatic.
Your breathing, your blood circulation. Nothing you do makes your lungs
absorb oxygen and
your heart
circulate blood. They just do it. You have no control. The process is
automatic.
The aging process. There's nothing you do which makes your body age. It
just ages. You have no control. The process is
automatic.
"A-Ha!" you say, "but those are all bodily
processes.". "That's right" says I, "they are. And wait, there's more.
Let's inquire into the other areas together:".
Your attitude, your mental processes. There's nothing you do to have
your attitude be the way it is. You have an attitude. But
you don't control it. If you had control over your attitude, you'd
always have a great attitude to everything and everyone, yes? You have
no control. The process is
automatic.
There's nothing you do to have your mental processes be the way they
are. You have mental processes. But you don't control
them. The process is
automatic.
As for the decisions you make, tell me about your control over them.
No, listen: neuroscience has proved*
that some moments before you're aware of what you'll do next, a time in
which you subjectively appear to have
complete freedom
to do whatever you want,
your brain
has already determined what you're going to do. You then become
conscious of this "decision" and
believe
that you're in the process of making it. You have no control. The
process is
automatic.
So once again, the two
questions.
One, how much of your life do you control? A lot of it? A little? Some
of it? How much of your life exactly do you control? Two, how much of
your life is
on automatic?
Some of it? A little? A lot of it? How much of your life exactly is
on automatic?
What are you
beginning
to see?
What I'm
beginning
to see, what's coming into sharp focus (into stark relief
really) is not how little of my life I control. It's not even that
some of my life is actually
on automatic.
It's what's suddenly coming into sharp focus / stark relief is the
very daunting possibility that my entire life is on
fullautomatic.
