Sam Harris

Q1:  Just because there is a 10 second delay of “awarenss” between my subconscious and my conscious does not conclude a lack of Free Will does it?
Q2:  How does the delay of awareness between two complex analytical systems conclude lack of Free Will?
Q3:  Is it possible that this delay in awareness between the auto pilot (sub conscious) and the pilot (conscious) is a safety feature?
Q4:  If the pilot (conscious) senses a critical error anywhere in the complex system as the impulse (thought/direction)
is released from the auto pilot (sub conscious) does this delay enable an ABORT action by the pilot (conscious)?

I am amazed when a dish/glass or object falls and somehow I catch it with my left hand… I am right handed and the act(ion) appears to be instantaneous although I consciously was unaware of anything falling… almost like a 6th sense OR my auto pilot was 10 seconds ahead of my conscious… is it possible that my sub conscious actually “knew” what was going to happen?

What came first?  the chicken or the egg?

Good questions. I have not read Free Will yet and on the surface I do not subscribe to the argument against free will, but then again I don’t really know the arguments against it. I’m getting to it in my reading.

DawnCCC - 23 April 2012 12:44 PM

Q1:  Just because there is a 10 second delay of “awarenss” between my subconscious and my conscious does not conclude a lack of Free Will does it?
Q2:  How does the delay of awareness between two complex analytical systems conclude lack of Free Will?
Q3:  Is it possible that this delay in awareness between the auto pilot (sub conscious) and the pilot (conscious) is a safety feature?
Q4:  If the pilot (conscious) senses a critical error anywhere in the complex system as the impulse (thought/direction)
is released from the auto pilot (sub conscious) does this delay enable an ABORT action by the pilot (conscious)?

I am amazed when a dish/glass or object falls and somehow I catch it with my left hand… I am right handed and the act(ion) appears to be instantaneous although I consciously was unaware of anything falling… almost like a 6th sense OR my auto pilot was 10 seconds ahead of my conscious… is it possible that my sub conscious actually “knew” what was going to happen?

What came first?  the chicken or the egg?

It’s less about the delay between subconscious and conscious and more about the relationship between “you” and your brain.  Your brain makes decisions, and whether they are conscious or subconscious, you aren’t in control of those decisions at all.  Your brain may or may not be in control of some of them, but “you” are in control of none of them.  You witness some of them, but you control nothing.

Ok. I think I am grasping the concept, still struggling with it though!  So its more of a data stream type scenario shared by the
Main Frame (Sub Conscious) and the PC/Personal Computor (Conscious {I}, SO, ALTHOUGH, I the CONSCIOUS PC feels
alive (which I am) and FREE (which is being argued the I am not), the Free-Thinking Me is not really thinking freely but is actually interfacing and providing data to the Main Frame or Mother Board…  that now makes a lot of sense and opens up a whole new world of abstract thinking/confusion etc., LOL No I love the idea and can run with it in many directions.  this could go Sci Fi real quick!