Posts by Kenneth Hayes10

The book has a really solid story... even if it feels a bit derivative, though let's face it, we weren't exactly expecting a groundbreaking masterpiece. So, the potential for a great movie was definitely there... if only they hadn't targeted such a young audience. They crammed everything into about 90 minutes just because kids under nine can't sit still for much longer than that. It all felt totally unbelievable. I was honestly hoping for something more from the final battle... but it just fell flat. By the end, I could barely keep a straight face in the theater...
I honestly think someone who hasn't even read the book might actually enjoy the movie... I guess it all just comes down to personal taste...

Apemant said:Another way to look at it is believing everything was designed with purpose by some supernatural being—God. That’s what creationists believe. Are you a creationist? Just asking so I know where we're starting from...

Yes, I actually believe that evolution is just being "guided" by God.

Apemant said:Mutations don't happen with a purpose in mind.

Interesting point... but if mutations were truly just random accidents, life on Earth probably wouldn't even exist right now. How would these creatures ever adapt to extreme new environments through mere "random chance"? A bird doesn't just wake up with a longer beak by accident, nor does a giraffe suddenly grow a long neck without reason...

Perhaps consciousness and reason are actually detached from our environment and genetics, which might be where our freedom truly shows itself...

Atma said:Man is unfree, consciousness is just matter, everything that exists is trapped in some incomprehensible determinism (God doesn't exist and neither does free will), being is just a word, and philosophy is nothing more than a critique of language.

If you follow that logic, then absolutely nothing in this world—in this universe or any others—holds any meaning at all. Just look at the cosmos, at all that matter you're limited to seeing! Can mere matter really be its own purpose? There simply has to be a free will out there, existing beyond this matter and this entire universe... it has to exist, if only for the sake of meaning.

Anna... said:It’s such a perfect starting point for anyone who pins their expectations on others... It lets them dodge making actual choices or decisions, which is just a clever way to sidestep responsibility! They always end up blaming everyone else—genetics, tradition, society, circumstances... It's why they're constantly unhappy without even realizing why...

Others can't be blamed, since they're just as free and responsible as I am!...

Hannah Thomas13 said:So, to wrap this up... genetics and our environment don't just hand us a single, pre-packaged destiny. Instead, they work together to set these loose boundaries of probability for all of us... and it’s really up to us to pick a path amidst all that chaos...

So, genetics and environment are definitely factors... but there's also that one deciding factor: ME. The "I" factor. But what does that actually mean? Who am I, really?...

neonmarlin13 said:Kenneth Hayes10, I actually posted that exact same question over on religion reddit.com/r/religion...

religion reddit.com/r/religion

Just go take a look at what they're saying over there...

I haven't seen your thread before, but I should probably mention right away that we don't quite see eye to eye... It seems like your whole goal here is to prove that true freedom doesn't exist, which makes any kind of judgment—especially from God—completely pointless. But if you're willing to accept that God exists, then you really have to acknowledge the most vital part of religion: the soul. After all, it's the soul that undergoes judgment, acting through our conscience...

Now I find myself wondering... truly, am I a soul just as much as I am a body? A single unity where all my freedom is revealed...

rustymaker5 said:You have to consider genetics too—apparently there’s this "super Y gene" linked to mass shooters that basically hardwires them to act that way, leaving them with no choice. But once we move past biological or neurological disorders, free will still exists.

Generally speaking... I find myself wondering why I ever chose one path over another... when it all boils down to accumulated experience, genetic makeup, and external circumstances that are totally out of our control due to "everyone else's free will." It feels like the only thing actually driven by free will is the process of building a personality through experience... but if you trace those choices back to the very beginning, before any experience existed, you're left with nothing but DNA and pure luck.
Can someone please talk sense into me? I'm trying to figure out my actual role in all of this, because looking at the math of heredity, experience, and circumstance... it feels like I don't even exist!

afriend said:hm...it's obvious that people are free.

So how does that freedom actually show up? I asked 'who am I' in my first post... just to make it easier to tackle the question of what kind of freedom I'm actually talking about...

arna said:Sure, we could, but let’s not pretend he’s not the one at fault. Plenty of other people grow up in those exact same circumstances without turning into criminals or cheapskates...

It’s all down to genetics, right?

It seems like a simple question, but isn't philosophy's whole job just to provide complicated answers to easy ones? 🙂

When I ask myself, "Who am I?", I'm not really looking for a list of my traits... For instance, if you assume every single thing we do is just a result of our DNA and our life experiences, then things get weird. If someone had a perfect map of those factors, they could basically predict everything we'll ever do. That thought actually creeps me out a little... because it implies I don't have any real free will, just a series of cause-and-effect reactions. And if that's true, then who is "me"? Can we even say, "He's not at fault for being a criminal; his upbringing made him that way," or, "He's not to blame for being stingy; it’s just in his genes"? If there's no choice involved, who is that person, and where does the blame actually lie? 😕

I totally forgot to say thanks. So, thank you! I have to admit, I didn't really put in the effort to hunt this down myself when asking here would've been way easier. Regardless...👍

I know this is a bit off-topic, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread... does anyone know how to pay for a subscription to a specific topic on this new version of the forum?
Thanks in advance!