Dinner and discussion: "New Year, New You? .. Free Will vs Determinism"

New Year, New You? .. Free Will vs Determinism!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all have had a holiday and new year season that lived up to what you hoped.

I'd like to start this year off with a classical theme that is probably one of the most well known debates in philosophy, do we live in a deterministic universe? Is free will an Illusion?

I am linking this to what I traditionally start the year on the theme of new years resolutions and behaviour change, the stats tend to support that over 90% of people who start new years resolutions have given them up in the first month, which tends to support the argument of there being a deterministic universe?

But what about those "lucky" few that succeed? have they indeed got some degree of free will, and is it actually "free" or are there forces acting that support their "Growth and Success"?

What if whatever we do we will end up in the same place eventually and all our free will is actually the sum total of all the influences that bear upon us, what if we actually have way more influence on the system if we saw through the illusion that everything is deterministic?

If your interested in exploring this classical arguement from a modern perspective what it might mean for us from a philosophical point of view come along on the 20 Jan at 6pm to the Goodwood Hotel "The Goody" for what is always a deep and enjoyable discussion on philosophical matters in a relevant modern way.

Steven Archer
0437 522 792