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Is it we who are really making the decisions?
Yes 100%  100%  [ 3 ]
No 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 3

W91T
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20 Jul 2016, 10:05 am

When we make choices for what's wrong and what's right, are these really our own choices, or are we making certain choices because our personalities are affected by others?

Thank you for voting.



shlaifu
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21 Jul 2016, 2:09 pm

voted yes, with some caveats: our personality is not a solid entity.
part of our personality is bodily things, like serotonin- or bloodsugar-levels.
when the snickers ad says "you're not yourself when you're hungry", it's lying somewhat. The hungry self is also ourself.
so is the depressed self. when we start taking anti-depressants, a different self emerges. when we get hit on the head really badly, we can become yet a different person.

the other thing that plays into our personalities is memories. and whether they are childhood memories, or memories from last night's drinkining round - ... are childhood memories even still considered "childhood memories" if one self is a child?

so you see, your question angles on a bunch of ill-defined terms, some of which are not properly defineable at this stage. so: sure, why not just call the entity that makes decisions "me", for the sake of answering that question.


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mikeman7918
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21 Jul 2016, 11:51 pm

I voted yes because my personality may be effected by a lot of things but it's the only "me" that there has ever been, so yeah, it is me making those decisions. If you are asking about if we have free will though then I would have to say no.


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Darmok
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22 Jul 2016, 12:02 am

Is Ahab, Ahab? Is it I, God, or who, that lifts this arm? But if the great sun move not of himself, but is as an errand-boy in heaven; nor one single star can revolve, but by some invisible power; how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts; unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that living, and not I. By heaven, man, we are turned round and round in this world, like yonder windlass, and Fate is the handspike.


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W91T
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22 Jul 2016, 4:47 pm

I didn't think about that our personality isn't a solid entity before. I guess I didn't think about it because so many talk about personality. Maybe it was the answer that people doesn't always have free will I was looking for.

Sorry, it took me some time before I understood the quote, but I think I understand it. If I understand it right, it's about that no one is taking direct action over the person's choice because it's ultimately the person itself who chooses in the end.