They say we are endowed with free will. At least that justifies our need for indecision.[1]
One impediment to modelling what gets termed ‘free will’ is the use of the word ‘will’, which characterises the phenomenon in terms a “faculty” or “power” of the “mind”. For example, the Macquarie Dictionary (1992: 2000) includes the following definitions of ‘will’:
1. the faculty of conscious and esp. of deliberate action: the freedom of the will.2. the power of choosing ones own actions: to have a strong or a weak will.3. the act of using this power.
The following discussion will attempt to identify and integrate some of the dimensions involved in behavioural choice, semiotic or otherwise.
Footnote:
[1] Peter Hammill ‘The Comet, The Course, The Tail’.
ChatGPT revised:
"Free will" — they say we are endowed with it. At least this offers an explanation for our chronic indecision.
One significant challenge in modelling what is commonly called ‘free will’ is the very use of the word ‘will,’ which often frames the phenomenon as a faculty or power of the mind. For example, the Macquarie Dictionary (1992: 2000) provides the following definitions of ‘will’:
-
The faculty of conscious and especially deliberate action: the freedom of the will.
-
The power of choosing one’s own actions: to have a strong or weak will.
-
The act of using this power.
This discussion aims to explore and integrate some of the complexities involved in behavioural choice, whether semiotic or otherwise.