[ExI] agency-based personal identity

[gts]

Jef Allbright wrote:

> Schopenhauer's thinking contained yet the teleological assumption of
> an essential Will (or Self) driving all meaningful action.

Schopenhauer wrote about the will in four different senses or  
manifestations. The phenomenal will is the sense relevant to this  
discussion. Apparently you don't know or understand what he meant by it.

The phenomenal will is merely the ordinary type of will that we refer to  
in the sentence, "It is his will to do x." Nothing mystical or  
teleological about it.

In the 'will as essence' thread, Damien posted some interesting empirical  
results which corroborate the idea that the will drives the intellect. It  
seems that volitional processes (processes of the will) start in the brain  
a fraction of a second before the conscious intellect becomes aware of  
them, suggesting as per Schop. that the will is primary.

The will drives both the mind and the body: people think that which they  
will to think, and do that which they will to do.

You might disagree with something I've written, and in that circumstance I  
am quite correct in replying that "you will think whatever you want to  
think". People, including you, believe only what they want to believe.

Most of what we will is willed unconsciously. We will to breathe, for  
example, but most of our breaths are taken without conscious awareness.

> I await your thoughtful comments.

Maybe more when I get a chance. In meantime I think we've fallen off topic  
for this thread. (I'm moving this message to the 'agent based identity'  
thread).

-gts