[Lestat]

My motion example was due to someone else's example of a billiard break (which did make sense to me). Basically, I understood it to mean that when you break a rack of billiard balls, it is impossible (and hence seemingly random), to determine where the balls will all finish up. Yet there can be no doubt that once the cue ball was struck, only one outcome was possible and could be no other way. This makes perfect sense to me!

So once the big bang occurs everything is set in motion and can be no other way. Ok, fine. Got it... So each new state is caused by an antecedent state or event. But what happens when something within the primary event stops? Such as tossing a ball up in the air and catching it? Now of course, I realize the ball hasn't really stopped, but the initial energy which caused the ball to briefly act against the forces of gravity has stopped. The only only way the ball can rise again is if the neurons inside my brain fire (my FREE WILL), in order to toss it again.

Now determinism would say that the neurons which fired inside my brain causing the ball to rise the 2nd time were already set in motion and couldn't have been stopped. In other words, it could've been no other way. However, I see this as two SEPERATE events which acted independently from the primary event (the big bang or whatever), because something within the antedecent event STOPPED and then started again! This disengages the agent momentarily from the primary event.

Of course, this is all a very sophomoric attempt to explain something I don't understand in the first place. But this is why I currently believe in free will. I'm thinking this belief might very well change as I come to understand determinism. But for now all the arguments I've heard in favor of determinism seem no more plausible than arguments for a god. If I open a window how can you prove this was a deterministic act? Of course, I can't prove it wasn't, but why should I have to? I wanted the window open so I opened it!