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Originally Posted by Praxus
Free will is axiomatic, if we don't have it, you can't know anything you claim to know. Saying we have no free will is just as nonsensical as claiming we live in a universe were existence equals non-existence. In other words it is arbitrary, in the face of perceptual & conceptual evidence telling us that free will does exist and that existence means existence.
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Of course I will side with Barrowaj in asserting the power of biology and physics over free will. It was only a matter of time before I found this philosophical post! Hahahaha......
Anyway, we have my Philosophy thread for that discussion.
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Originally Posted by Praxus
Of course we do not have unbounded free will, we do not have the power to blow up the Earth on a whim. We do not have the power to change natural law. But within these confines, we do have free will. But let's not go off onto a tangent here with free will.
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Indeed. What a long tangent it could be!
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Originally Posted by Praxus
I'm not a libertarian. If everyone always acted in their own self-interest there would be no need for a Government. I support the existence of a Government, therefore I don't believe all people will always act in their best interest.
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Now, here we have basis for a long discussion. Even if people acted in their rational self-interest, there is still a need for Government.
If everone acted in their rational self-interest, we might have serious combatting outcomes. That is, one person's goals might be in direct contradiction of another person's goals. This is what happens today. One of the critical roles of Government is as a moderator. Government allows a more or less peaceful resolution of self-interest clashes within its populace.
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Originally Posted by Praxus
Let's examine what you just said here...
"In the spirit of freedom, I think the best way to do this is generally by creating taxes and tax incentives rather then outright banning certain behaviors."
In the spirit of freedom we are going to loot people's private property to discourage certain behaviors, instead of outright banning them.
Wow. Just wow.
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That is one of the methods that the U.S. Government uses today. It is not looting someone's property. It is certainly 'nicer' than government regulations, laws, and penalities.