It does not seem impossible to shape the personality of children, as far as their genetic make-up allows us, and therefore, to make them acquire good habits and positive personality traits, such as honesty or open-mindedness. We want to teach our children what we regard as good values, but if free will is regarded as one of these good values, how can we act so as to strenghten free will? What are the conditions required for the growth and manifestation of free will.
As for me, I see at least one condition: teaching children to think before acting. Teach them to refrain from acting spontaneously most of the time. If free will exists, it requires that mind stop and think calmly of what is going on (thus weakening the forces exerted upon it) before making its choice.
Interesting thread (though, perhaps, it belongs in the Social Science forum).
I think that by helping children engage in problem solving activities, where they figure things out for themselves, is an important first step to helping them develop confidence with regard to thinking for themselves.
One way to do this, would be to play chess with a child; but instead of teaching them “the proper way to play”–that is, after they know the rules–one should encourage the child to formulate his or her own strategies. Perhaps, one should read to a child and continualy ask them what they think about the things you read to them; do they agree with a character’s actions, or disagree? This seems to get a childs mind thinking for itself.
Another important aspect for child devlopment, in my opinion, is to teach the child to have the courage to stand by their beliefs in the face of social pressure. I think the best way which that can be done is to help them develop confidence in themselves, and in their own capabilities to reason.
It is very important, I think, to take a childs opinions seriously and never brush them of. And perhaps, the best way of all, is to be an example to the child yourself as a freethinking human being. What a child learns best from his parents, is not so much what they say, I imagine, but how they act.
I see your point, but it seems if you want a child with freewill, it would be for him or her to decide. Perhaps the ultimate expression of freewill is for him or her to be the cause of the social pressure (which will hopefully be postive if they are taught to uphold good values).
On the contrary, if free will exists it does so because it is unfettered by rationality ot look before you leap ethics. But it doesn’t, so don’t worry.
p.s.
I hope you do bother to read the passage from Nietzsche, it took me some time to write it out, since the text isn’t available online.
I think imagination is the key here. It is the place where free will comes from. We tend to forget about imagination as we grow older because we are too tied up with physical affairs or responsibilities. We should teach them to train their imagination to do wonderful things. When you come to a problem, simply imagine yourself defeating it and succeding. You can picture your process through the problem then act it out in reality. Shamans have used this technique for centuries.
One of the major challenges in philosophical discussion is that every term has so many different definitions. “Free will” can mean just about anything, as long as some “will” can be said to be free from something—whatever that something may be. So much of philosophical discussions are really nothing but arguments over definitions, and it’s really starting to annoy me. Someone need to start writing a dictionary over philosophical terms, in which every term are clearly defined, and where new terms are created wherever the old ones have conflicting definitions.
The reason I’m writing this as a response to this thread, is that the meaning of “free will”, as used here, is so far removed from the meaning of “free will”, as I use it, that it’s not even funny.
Free will is the power of consciousness to act upon the body so as to determine whether a certain deed will be done or not. If what I did could not have been done otherwise, I am not free.
In that case there is nothing you can do to strenghten the free will of people, as it doesn’t even exist in the first place. However, this is not the kind of free will that is being discussed here—but the two are often erroneously thought to be the same.
I find it necessary to distinguish between the action of free will and the ability to react to desire
Fears, inhibitions, laws and the like all contribute to deny us the ability to react in accordance with certain of our desires. By overcoming these obstacles we can acquire the ability to react in accordance with desire. Will for us is then the ability to react in accordance with the dominating of conflicting desires. You may have the desire for ice cream but also the desire to lose ten pounds. Will would then be seen as reacting to the subjectively considered higher value.
There is nothing nor does there have to be anything conscious in this. Reaction doesn’t require consciousness but only the emotional freedom to react.
Will, in contrast requires consciousness. Since we don’t really have consciousness, we cannot be said to have free will. Will as an aspect of human consciousness allows for “cause”. It is usual to think of life in terms of cause and effect but in reality it is just a series of reactions or effects in accordance with desire as the impulse.
Will, as a product of consciousness, allows for a “doing” that is not motivated by an unconscious desire within the big picture but instead a conscious awareness and laws of the big picture which even deny our unconscious desires. Such action from a higher conscious perspective, not just a lawful effect, can then be considered a “cause”
Though an action from will and a reaction of desire may appear the same, they are, in the objective sense, entirely different.
Strengthening will (action) as a product of consciousness is different though related, to the freedom of unconscious reaction. It brings human meaning to what we do. But first it requires consciousness and that is a very large but.
It’s my opinion, that this thread, in following what seems to be Samkhya’s original intention, should not be about whether or not freewill exists, but rather, should focus on: how do we strengthen the will of children to think and act in an independent way. What everyone else has done is simply digressed from the issue. Though, I am ready to admit that the question needs to be slightly rephrased – I nevertheless would maintain that I’m staying true to Samkhya’s original intent (hopefully s/he’ll agree).
The best way IMO to strengthen the ability to react is through excercises designed for the gradual freedom from needless fear, inibition, and concern for what others may think while maintaining the necessary attention and focus on our goal.
