Gregg, Thank you for sharing. I am happy to see how comfortable Christian Smith is with defending free will. "By person I mean a conscious, reflective, embodied, self-transcending center of subjective experience, durable identity <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_us_basics_identity&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=1DWrQ8qeTWPaDtOVIPKt6gygFD1zNMfRcwwVFa2sFYw&s=qPxbWNzJlVAFl2pIrl3RHMM9OhVi_tLJqwT_M2n5aLY&e= >, ...who—as the efficient cause of his or her own responsible actions and interactions…" You also quoted Edward O Wilson, who I didn’t understand very well 40 years ago. His fairly recent book The Meaning of Human Existence nicely outlines his faith in human autonomy of choice. Without freedom, Wilson contends, a conscious mind would be without purpose. Coming from a man of science, this is refreshing. Within the last few years I reread BF Skinner’s philosophy of behaviorism, About Behaviorism, and Beyond Freedom & Dignity. In this books Skinner claims we do not have free will, saying that we are shaped by the contingencies of our environment and the only means for changing one’s behavior is to change their environment. He then concedes that we can change our own environments, serving as controller of our behavior. I change my environment every time I read a book. Go for a walk. Ask someone a question... My question to you, do you differ with Smith’s and Wilson's defense of free will? Thank you again, Peter Peter Lloyd Jones 562-209-4080 [log in to unmask] Sent by determined causes that no amount of will is able to thwart. > On Dec 10, 2021, at 3:58 PM, Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Hi TOK Folks, > Please check out this blog I put up today on the ontology of human persons: > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_us_blog_theory-2Dknowledge_202112_what-2Dit-2Dmeans-2Dbe-2Dhuman-2Dperson&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=1DWrQ8qeTWPaDtOVIPKt6gygFD1zNMfRcwwVFa2sFYw&s=OXqmi_DzMmW-1nKipZkUud0Qh7bmbkfwBArPEQTbEPM&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_us_blog_theory-2Dknowledge_202112_what-2Dit-2Dmeans-2Dbe-2Dhuman-2Dperson&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=1DWrQ8qeTWPaDtOVIPKt6gygFD1zNMfRcwwVFa2sFYw&s=OXqmi_DzMmW-1nKipZkUud0Qh7bmbkfwBArPEQTbEPM&e= > > > > ___________________________________________ > Gregg Henriques, Ph.D. > Professor > Department of Graduate Psychology > 216 Johnston Hall > MSC 7401 > James Madison University > Harrisonburg, VA 22807 > (540) 568-7857 (phone) > (540) 568-4747 (fax) > > Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity. > > Check out the Unified Theory Of Knowledge homepage at: > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=1DWrQ8qeTWPaDtOVIPKt6gygFD1zNMfRcwwVFa2sFYw&s=EWVf8A1arQ-etnnmqvMeeC9ggRhBQ3H1NS0lTc5JDtc&e= <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=1DWrQ8qeTWPaDtOVIPKt6gygFD1zNMfRcwwVFa2sFYw&s=EWVf8A1arQ-etnnmqvMeeC9ggRhBQ3H1NS0lTc5JDtc&e= > > > ############################ > To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:mailto:[log in to unmask]> or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 <http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1> ############################ To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
