{"id":9186,"date":"2018-10-04T05:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T09:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justrightmedia.org\/blog\/?p=9186"},"modified":"2018-11-11T13:51:06","modified_gmt":"2018-11-11T18:51:06","slug":"576-proof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/archives\/9186","title":{"rendered":"576 – Proof! Free will and the evidence for it"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"proof\"

Prove it! That\u2019s what the feedback to our show last week demanded. Our conclusion that there is no conflict or contradiction between determinism, free will, and morality \u2018proved\u2019 to be point of discomfort for some.<\/p>\n

A demand for proof is understandable and necessary \u2018Proof\u2019 verifies a fact, theory, or argument that may lead to (or perhaps prevent) action, and thus, have consequences.<\/p>\n

It is important to bear in mind that in order for something to be susceptible to a test of \u2018proof\u2019 – whether concerning the existence of an object or the validity of an idea \u2013 it must also be capable of being proven false. If it is not possible to prove it false, then \u2018proving\u2019 its validity becomes a pointless exercise.<\/p>\n

All \u2018proofs,\u2019 whether in mathematics or in logic, philosophically are best categorized within philosophy\u2019s branch of epistemology \u2013 where it is actually possible for theories and assertions to be \u2018proven\u2019 true or false \u2013 ironically validated against the \u2018unprovable\u2019 but axiomatic reality of existence.<\/p>\n

Even more notable if not ironic, such proofs that we do accept as proofs do not rely on the evidence of our senses, but upon our ability to conceptualize and think.<\/p>\n

But a demand for \u2018proof\u2019 that validates some \u2018metaphysical\u2019 fact of reality (like existence, consciousness, or free will) exceeds the bounds of what ‘can’ be proven, and thus will never be satisfied. There simply is no such \u2018proof.\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n

To demonstrate why something as self-evident as \u2018existence\u2019 cannot be \u2018proven,\u2019 try \u2018proving\u2019 the \u2018existence\u2019 of any particular thing. For example, try proving that a simple dollar coin held in your hand and that everyone can see, actually \u2018exists.\u2019 That is, offer an objective \u2018proof\u2019 of its \u2018existence\u2019 without relying on the evidence of your senses. See the problem? Now, given that the coin is in plain sight of everyone (including yourself), try \u2018proving\u2019 that the coin does not exist. Feel silly?<\/p>\n

Which \u2018proves\u2019 the point \u2013 sometimes the evidence of our senses is all we have to \u2018prove\u2019 whether our apprehension of something that \u2018exists\u2019 is Just Right.<\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prove it! That\u2019s what the feedback to our show last week demanded. Our conclusion that there is no conflict or contradiction between determinism, free will, and morality \u2018proved\u2019 to be point of discomfort for some. A demand for proof is understandable and necessary \u2018Proof\u2019 verifies a fact, theory, or argument that may lead to (or [Continue Reading]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,596,28,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-audio","category-ideas","category-latest","category-reality","category-reason","issues-determinism","issues-free-will","category-12-id","category-596-id","category-28-id","category-3-id","category-4-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9186"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9356,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9186\/revisions\/9356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justrightmedia.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}