Chain 32
From Chains of Reason
It is logically impossible for any intelligent being to possess free will.
Link 1
- Premise 1
- If an intelligent being does not have any choice over how it thinks, then it does not have any control over how it thinks.
- Premise 2
- A statement of the form 'If not X, then not Y' is equivalent to a statement of the form 'If Y, then X'.
- Conclusion
- If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must have a choice over how it thinks. »
Link 2
- Premise 1
- » If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must have a choice over how it thinks.
- Premise 2
- If an intelligent being has a choice over how it thinks, then it must make a decision about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking.
- Conclusion
- If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must make a decision about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking. »
Link 3
- Premise 1
- » If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must make a decision about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking.
- Premise 2
- If an intelligent being must make a decision about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking, then it must go through some kind of decision-making process in order to make that decision.
- Conclusion
- If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must go through some kind of decision-making process before proceeding along a particular course of thinking. »
Link 4
- Premise 1
- » If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must go through some kind of decision-making process before proceeding along a particular course of thinking.
- Premise 2
- Any kind of decision-making process is a form of thinking.
- Conclusion
- If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking. »
Link 5
- Premise 1
- » If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking.
- Premise 2
- If an intelligent being must think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking, then it must in turn think about how to think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking, ad infinitum.
- Conclusion
- If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must not only think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking, but also think about how to think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking, ad infinitum. »
Link 6
- Premise 1
- » If an intelligent being has control over how it thinks, then it must not only think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking, but also think about how to think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking, ad infinitum.
- Premise 2
- An entity that has to think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking, and in turn think about how to think about how to think before proceeding along a particular course of thinking, ad infinitum, would not be capable of ever starting a particular course of thinking.
- Conclusion
- It is logically impossible for any intelligent being to have control over how it thinks. »
Link 7
- Premise 1
- » It is logically impossible for any intelligent being to have control over how it thinks.
- Premise 2
- In order for any intelligent being to possess free will it must have control over how it thinks.
- Conclusion
- It is logically impossible for any intelligent being to possess free will.
- see also:
