80. Notes - concerning free will / + addendum

80. 30 March 2019

       Mid-afternoon. You are sitting in the Honda facing the northeast portion of woods at Shale Hollow Park off Route 23 across from Kroger's. Carol is on page 314 of Michael Connelly's Two Kinds of Truth. The day is rainy and cool and you enjoy the early Spring woodsy environment. Your cousin, Dr. Jim S. sent you an article from www.sciencemag.org about free will, knowing you would be interested. I am heavily editing it to get to the specifics you have 'bolded'. - Amorella

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"Philosophers and neuroscientists join forces to see whether science can solve the mystery of free will"

By Bahar Gholipour Mar. 21, 2019, 11:05 AM

. . . The collaboration, the researchers say, can help them tackle two important questions: What does it take to have free will? And whatever that is, do we have it?

. . . With the 4-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the team plans to study how the brain enables conscious control of decisions and actions. Overall, it hopes to establish a new field in the study of the brain: the neurophilosophy of free will? . . .

Q: What would a collaboration between philosophers and neuroscientists look like?

A: . . .What to investigate is not a scientific question. It’s a theoretical or philosophical question.Then, if we agree on the question, how do we design the experiment that would answer exactly that question? 

. . . Ultimately, we’d like to get at two questions. One is, what is required for people to have free will? That is a philosophical question that our philosopher colleagues should come to an agreement on. As a scientist, I don’t know what it entails to have free will. Then there’s the second question, which is, whatever that thing is that is required for free will, do we have that? Do humans possess that? This is an empirical question.

Selected and edited from -https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/03/philosophers-and-neuroscientists-join-forces-see-whether-science-can-solve-mystery-free?utm_campaign=SciMag&utm_source=JHubbard&utm_medium=Facebook

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       1453 hours. When originally reading this I began wondering if the soul (blog context) helps decide a free will philosophical [moral] question? So far, the inference is that Miss Havisham allows the heartanmind to come to such philosophical questions. How are such questions weighed and decided, at least in my heartansoulanmind? 

       In your case the soul weighs in more easily through the heart of the matter leaving the mind to appear to be more rational. This is done purposefully (subconsciously) by you so that you tend to err more on the side of the heart, i.e. it is your romantic nature. A very good example of this goes back to 2003 after you retired from teaching and you asked your colleague and friend, Laney S. whether to write your upcoming novel from an 18th century neo-classic (satirical) point of view or a 19th century romantic perspective. Basically, you asked Laney pragmatically -- for which am I best suited? She responded, "Romantic." I feel Dr. Laney understood that your romantic writing inclination [i.e. Coleridge] in you was stronger than the satirical [i.e. Swift] writing inclination. mh

        1702 hours. Miss Havisham, does the heartanmind take on any of the attributes of the soul over time? This is basically a heartanmind environmental question and perhaps a bit silly. 

       No, the heartanmind are as they are. If not, where would be the free will? mh

       1809 hours. Your phraseology seems odd in "where would be the free will". It sounds awkward. I would say, "where would the free will be".

       Yes, you would. mh

       

       Post. - Amorella

Addendum:

(31 March 2019)

       Mid-afternoon. You and Carol will be heading over to Kim and Paul's for late Sunday afternoon and supper. You are questioning your enquiry of Miss Havisham. You assume this is one of your devices to make her a more concrete reality in your mind. The reason for your probing as you see presently is that of curiosity as to how she might 'change' the perceptions in the old Merlyn stories. It appears easier for you to wonder on the soul than to actually work on Chapter Three. - Amorella

       1547 hours. I'm sure you are right on in your observations Amorella. Why should I feel surprised when I sense your direction and concur as I write down your perspective. You shift my thoughts and I sense them a split second before consciousness.