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Old 12-14-2005, 07:27 AM
Stu Pidasso Stu Pidasso is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 779
Default Re: Two personal beliefs and their consequences

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Meh. It would also be decided before hand what the demon would tell you. Really, the scenario doesn't show anything.

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If Determinism is true then the demon also does not have free will and the history of his actions were inevitably set at the creation of the universe. It would be impossible for the demon to make a prediction you could go against. The demon would either make a prediction you fulfill or make no prediction at all.

However if the demon does make a prediction and your action is opposite of that prediction, then determinism has failed. Free will exist.

The only way the senario can prove or disprove determinism is if it is actually played out. Unfortunately that will not happen and we can only think about it as a thought experiment. Its only usefulness is to clarify the intuitive.

The reason the thought experiment leads me to believe determinism is false is because I believe that if the demon made a prediction I could take the opposite action, and I can't envision a reliable process that would block the demon from making a wrong prediction. I suppose the demon could have a coronary and die just before making a wrong predicition but the probability of that is pretty low.

Stu
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