Gale wrote :
>Jacques Bailhache wrote:
>
>> I wonder if there couldn't be another possibility, neither determinism,
nor
>> randomness, but free will, which I agree to be something rather
mysterious.
>
>> This idea of description levels seems very important to me. This is
perhaps
>> the key idea for understanding the spirit and its properties,
consciousness,
>> free will and creative intelligence.
>> My idea is that the universe, and the living beings in particular, could
be
>> made of an infinity of material organization levels : body, cell,
molecule,
>> atom, particle, quark, ..., with different physical laws at each level.
>
>What is needed is an operational definition of "free will".
>I want some way to tell from *external* observations of
>a system whether it has free will. Can one come up with
>a definition such that humans show free will but electrons
>do not? I want to be able to apply the definition to a
>mechanical intelligence.
Are you sure that
- free will is externally observable ? (it could be only an internal
property of spirit, like consciousness)
- electrons have no free will ? (cf Jean Charon)
There is a continuity from the particle to the man (atom, molecule, cell,
simple animal).
If we consider that the particle has no spirit (free will, consciousness...)
and the man has a spirit, we must put the separation somewhere. In this
case, there must have been a being who had spirit and whose parent(s) had no
spirit.
>I agree that the levels notion is important, but would emphasize the
>emergent properties aspect rather than the compositional aspect.
>Thus molecules display huge variety which is barely present at the
>atomic level. Cells display self-reproduction which is barely present
>among single molecules. Multi-cell beings have such emergent properties
>as self awareness, intelligence, and values.
Spirit and its properties, consciousness and free will, seems to me too
transcendental to be just emergent properties.
==========================
Jacques Bailhache
Y2K Centre of Expertise (BRO)
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Received on Wed Jan 13 1999 - 10:11:37 PST