The clockwork universe: is free will an illusion?

According to the theorem of Laplace's Demon, if the position and momentum of every quark, lepton, boson, and photon in the universe were known with perfect accuracy, then all events from both the future and the past could be determined from the laws of physics.

The take-away: the universe knows what is going to happen, even if you do not.

Our phenomenological perspective of an arrow of time is perhaps strictly a result of the way our consciousness percieves the second law of thermodynamics and the increasing entropy of the universe.
 
Cypress said:
According to the theorem of Laplace's Demon, if the position and momentum of every quark, lepton, boson, and photon in the universe were known with perfect accuracy, then all event from both the future and the past could be determined from the laws of physics.

The take-away: the universe knows what is going to happen, even if you do not.
Click to expand...

Article discusses Laplace. I think this is speculation since there can be no evidence for the argument.
It is also a theologically based argument, that GOD [math] knows all.
 
BidenPresident said:
Article discusses Laplace. I think this is speculation since there can be no evidence for the argument.
It is also a theologically based argument, that GOD [math] knows all.
Click to expand...

I just saw the thread title and responded. You are right, there is no way to prove free will is an illusion. But there are a substantial number of physicists who believe that free will is largely a construct of human consciousness.
 
Cypress said:
I just saw the thread title and responded. You are right, there is no way to prove free will is an illusion. But there are a substantial number of physicists who believe that free is largely a construct of human consciousness.
Click to expand...

Yes, indeed. By the way, Nietzsche was critical of free will.
 
BidenPresident said:
Yes, indeed. By the way, Nietzsche was critical of free will.
Click to expand...

Scientists and philosophers prior to the 20th century sure liked their demons.

There was Laplace's Demon
Maxwell's Demon
Descartes' Demon

and those are just the ones I can come up with off the top of my head!
 
Cypress said:
Scientists and philosophers prior to the 20th century sure liked their demons.

There was Laplace's Demon
Maxwell's Demon
Descartes' Demon

and those are just the ones I can come up with off the top of my head!
Click to expand...


Descartes thought God guaranteed the truths of geometry. How convenient.
 
Covid proves that most of us don't have free will. We're submissive and obedient in isolation dependent on the protective custody of big government ratcheting up fear in the masses. Plato wrote that few humans will ever escape the cave for the light and warmth of the sun. This is a common theme in philosophy. It's called psychosis of the masses.

We don't have to read 3500 years of philosophy to understand menticide because it's explained to us in the Wizard of Oz. The world is a dangerous and evil place that people of all walks of life can escape if they join together and expose the man pulling the levers behind the curtain. If you walk the paved road long and far, you realize you had free will all along.
 
goat said:
Covid proves that most of us don't have free will. We're submissive and obedient in isolation dependent on the protective custody of big government ratcheting up fear in the masses. Plato wrote that few humans will ever escape the cave for the light and warmth of the sun. This is a common theme in philosophy. It's called psychosis of the masses.

We don't have to read 3500 years of philosophy to understand menticide because it's explained to us in the Wizard of Oz. The world is a dangerous and evil place that people of all walks of life can escape if they join together and expose the man pulling the levers behind the curtain. If you walk the paved road long and far, you realize you had free will all along.
Click to expand...

Easy peazy.
 
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