>I'm not familiar with Nozick's thermostat example, could you provide a link?
I don't have any link for it, sorry. I read it in a philosophy for newbies book :)
>You're still making a leap of logic though. You are reasoning as though the concept of self is different from and not dependent on the same matter and laws of physics that your brain is.
This is very... abstract. If I've made a logical mistake, please tell me where, exactly.
>(ME)I consciously assess various ideas for what action to take, according to my goals, beliefs and desires
>Agreed, somewhat. You have the apperance of doing this,
Not just an appearance, I'm actually doing this!
>in your mind you are weighing benefits of outcomes, etc.
Yes, it is in my mind - where else would mental activity take place?
>But even this process is governed by the laws of physics acting on the particles that make up your mind.
So what? You can break it down into its components if you like, but it still is what it is.
>You have the feeling of having made a decision, but in reality this is the only outcome that could have possibly occured.
Yes, but the fact remains that it occured because I made it happen.
>Because the particles of your mind that are involved in all the decision making are still governed by the laws of physics your final "decision" is no more a product of choice than one ball striking another on a pool table.
No no noooo! No mental activity -> no choice. Put the snooker balls away, please ;_;
You agreed with my definition of choice. Right? Now we're just going over how it works (or doesn't) in a physical universe.
>The interactions of the particles of your mind and the balls on the table are all governed by the same laws of physics, and nothing can change that.
I'm not saying anything changes that, I'm saying that choice is a natural, normal part of that. For conscious humans, that is.
>Now I suppose if you believed in an immaterial soul/consciousness that somehow affected the material parts of your brain so that they were not ultimately just balls on a table, then free will is a possibility.
Good Heavens no, there's no need for that! But even if that was true, that wouldn't give you a free ticket to free will. If souls had specific identities, and interacted with bodies in a causal fashion, then they would be able to command the body only in one specific way at any one time. They'd just become another part of nature. Another type of ball on the table.
QUESTION! Do you agree with this statement: an apple falls to the ground because of its mass and Earth's gravity.
I like the clockwork universe ...