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To: Phaedrus
It's possible that you may instead be creating the future.

Of course you are, but you don't have anything approaching perfect knowledge of what you are creating. It is the attempt to know that constitutes free will.

As per other posts, some of them mine, I agree that rationality is at best, and editing function rather than a generative function of the mind. I like the resonance metaphore. I wish I knew how to express it better, but it seems to me that the unconscious processes that roil around while we consider a difficult problem are seeking a stable point of resonance. Sometimes talking about a problem, if only to ourselves, allows something to gel. Other times, sleeping on a problem helps. Only occasionally are deep problems solved by writing down all the possibilities and subjecting them to a logical analysis. (Oddly enough, that's the process that Darwin used in deciding to get married. People are full of contradictions.)

891 posted on 02/24/2003 11:30:38 AM PST by js1138
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To: js1138; Alamo-Girl
So far as I'm concerned, you're both pretty much "nailing it". "Resonance", I feel, is very much on target but the Materialists won't like it. I suppose I should add that my post at #890 did involve some attempt at humor which has clearly fallen flat. Next time, I shall add a smiley face ... ;-}
892 posted on 02/24/2003 1:06:29 PM PST by Phaedrus
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