Jayson_Virissimo comments on How to Dissolve the Problem of Free Will and Determinism (Video) - Less Wrong
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Comments (4)
A concept being "insane"* isn't mutually exclusive with it being more defensible than another (presumably even more "insane") concept.
I never claimed there was a point to believing in such a doctrine (I'm not a libertarian in metaphysics); I was merely showing that the conclusions of the arguments in the video only contradict a subset of the theories of free will. I think people that argue for free will as choosing on the basis of one's desires would say that you do choose your desires (by choosing on the basis of your higher order desires).
The man in the video claimed that he was arguing against a view held by philosophers, not laymen. My comment was a response to a specific video, not "the man on the street". Also, you and the man in the video have used the term "in control". What do you mean by "in control"? Are people choosing on the basis of their desires not "in control"? I don't see why they wouldn't be.
I am far from an expert on the free will versus determinism debate (I haven't even read a single book on the subject), but my guess is that it would depend on which desires were changed. If the device changed the highest order desires of the agent, then I think libertarians (in the metaphysical sense) would agree that the free will of the agent has been compromised. On the other hand, if an agent used the device to make their lower order desires better conform to their higher order desires, then the act of using the device and the subsequent actions of the agent would be in accordance with free will.
I'm merely adopting the standard language used by philosophers.
*I assumed that "inane" was a typo and that you meant to type "insane", but even if the reverse is true my response still makes sense.