[Avodah] free will

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 10:49:34AM +0200, Eli Turkel via Avodah wrote:
:> You sure about that? They might not agree with Freud -- or R Yisrael
:> Salanter, who spoke about der dunkl decades before Freud -- about
:> what it's like...

: Out of my field of expertise. However, I understood the argument of Shnerb
: was that
: if there is no way to know the subconscious then it is meaningless to it
: being a factor in our decisions...

Unless you argue by process of elimination: Since our behavior isn't
fully explained by what goes on in our heads that we are conscious of,
we

: i.e. a theory that cannot be checked is a worthless theory.

That smacks of scientism. Yes, such a theory would not be a scientific
theory. That same line of reasoning led to Radical Behaviorism (BF
Skinner) and the idea that the only content of mental states is their
impact on increasing or decreasing some behavior.

Dawkins also denies qualia, a smaller claim but equally absurd. You
/think/ you picture a red rose in your head when you see one or imagine
one? Hah! you're wrong. There are no internal mental experiences.

And yes, if you bought into scientism, that's the only possible
conclusion. Only things you can experimentally show others on demand
are real.

BH there are questions in this world that lie beyond the domain of
science, and thus of its methodology for finding answers.

BTW, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is quite poular among practicing
O therapists -- at least here in the States -- assumes there is an
unconscious.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Despair is the worst of ailments. No worries
micha at aishdas.org        are justified except: "Why am I so worried?"
http://www.aishdas.org                         - Rav Yisrael Salanter
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