Joshua - Leelah
Philosopher Daniel Dennet says you can exercise free will by doing something unpredictable, such as talking to someone you wouldn't normally talk to in the supermarket queue.
Or, deciding not to do something evil.
Imagine a fundamentalist Christian couple who decide to do something unpredictable - like accepting that God made some people gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.
Imagine a person brought up as fan of Hitler deciding to accept that the Nazis are mainly criminals.
Philosopher Daniel Dennett says free will is much more complicated than many people believe
Does free will really exist?
Daniel Dennett says determinism and free will are not incompatible.
There are low-level forms of causation (one ball hits another one and it causes the second one to move) and higher level forms of causation.
A criminal might commit a crime 'because he was born criminal and brought up criminal."
But, the criminal is free to do the 'unpredictable' and to be good.
The criminal is free to think about his actions.
You can be unpredictable.
Joshua - Leelah
You can avoid being manipulated.
"Freedom, of the important kind, of the kind worth wanting, is freedom from being manipulated."
Who are the people who are being manipulated and who are therefore not free?
It is mainly the ultra-conservatives, the extremists and the fundamentalists.
Think of the fundamentalist Jew who is not free to marry a Moslem.
Think of the White racist who is not free to make friends with a Black neighbour.
Think of the fundamentalist Communist who is not free to enjoy the benefits of moderate capitalism.
~~
Joshua - Leelah
Joshua Alcorn wanted to be a girl called Leelah.
Joshua Alcorn suffered pain and abuse from his fundamentalist Christian parents.
Joshua's parents forced him into conversion therapy, and had him see Christian therapists.
Joshua committed suicide.
Fundamentalists are being manipulated by evil ideas.
The world is full of transgender people, such as:
"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
"You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things.
"They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." -Apple Inc.
..
Imagine a fundamentalist Christian couple who decide to do something unpredictable - like accepting that God made some people gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.
Imagine a person brought up as fan of Hitler deciding to accept that the Nazis are mainly criminals.
Philosopher Daniel Dennett says free will is much more complicated than many people believe
Does free will really exist?
There are low-level forms of causation (one ball hits another one and it causes the second one to move) and higher level forms of causation.
A criminal might commit a crime 'because he was born criminal and brought up criminal."
But, the criminal is free to do the 'unpredictable' and to be good.
The criminal is free to think about his actions.
You can be unpredictable.
Joshua - Leelah
You can avoid being manipulated.
"Freedom, of the important kind, of the kind worth wanting, is freedom from being manipulated."
Who are the people who are being manipulated and who are therefore not free?
It is mainly the ultra-conservatives, the extremists and the fundamentalists.
Think of the fundamentalist Jew who is not free to marry a Moslem.
Think of the White racist who is not free to make friends with a Black neighbour.
Think of the fundamentalist Communist who is not free to enjoy the benefits of moderate capitalism.
~~
Joshua - Leelah
Joshua Alcorn wanted to be a girl called Leelah.
Joshua Alcorn suffered pain and abuse from his fundamentalist Christian parents.
Joshua's parents forced him into conversion therapy, and had him see Christian therapists.
Joshua committed suicide.
Fundamentalists are being manipulated by evil ideas.
The world is full of transgender people, such as:
- Marja-Sisko Aalto (b. 1954), Finnish Evangelic-Lutheran priest[1]
- Aderet (b. 1976), Israeli pop singer[4]
- Rebecca Allison (b. 1946), American cardiologist
- Mianne Bagger (b. 1966), Danish golfer[23]
- Jenny Bailey, English politician; former Mayor of Cambridge[24]
- Jeanne Baré (1740–1803), French botanist
- Georgina Beyer (b. 1957), New Zealander politician[31]
- Chaz Bono (b. 1969), American singer and activist[34]
- Willmer "Little Ax" Broadnax (1916–1994), American Gospel tenor[39]
- Sarah Brown (politician), British politician
- Balian Buschbaum (b. 1980), German pole vaulter and two time European Championship bronze medalist[42]
- Lynda Cash English Navy officer[51]
- Choi Han-bit, South Korean model[55]
- Cindy Thái Tài, Vietnamese singer, model[56]
- Mary Elizabeth Clark (b. 1938), Episcopal Sister[57]
- Angela Clayton, British physicist
- Coccinelle (1931–2006), French singer and entertainer[61]
- Roberta Cowell (1918–2011), World War 2 fighter pilot, and the first British trans woman to have undergone gender reassignment[68]
- Baby Dee (b. 1953), American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and performance artist[79]
- Dana International, Israeli Singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998, with the song Diva
- Elagabalus (c. 203–222), Roman emperor[82]
- Chevalier d'Eon (1728–1810), French diplomat[84]
- Bülent Ersoy (b. 1952), Turkish singer[86]
- Sir Ewan Forbes, 11th Baronet (1912–1991), Doctor, farmer, 11th Baronet of Craigievar[90]
- Ketty Gabriele (b. 1982), reputed Italian mafia figure[94]
- Dorce Gamalama (b. 1963), Indonesian entertainer[95]
- Anna Grodzka (b. 1954), Polish politician, the first transsexual MP in European history.
- Jamie Lee Hamilton (b. 1955), Canadian aboriginal activist and politician[98]
- Lauren Harries (b. 1978), English child prodigy[102]
- Adela Hernandez, first transgender person elected to political office in Cuba[107]
- Dana International (b. 1972), Israeli singer[113]
- Kim Coco Iwamoto, Hawaii politician[114]
- Christina Kahrl, American sportswriter[125]
- Kamikawa Aya (b. 1968), Japanese politician[126]
- Lady, Korean transgender pop group[130]
- Stacie Laughton, American politician[133]
- Lee Si-yeon (b. 1979), South Korean actress[134]
- Alicia Liu, Taiwanese model[138]
- Vladimir Luxuria (b. 1965), Italian politician and actress[139]
- Chelsea Manning (b. 1987), American, US soldier, convicted spyand whistleblower[142]
- Deirdre McCloskey (b. 1942), American economist[146]
- Micheline Montreuil, Quebec lawyer, teacher, politician[150]
- Angela Morley (1924–2009) English composer and conductor[151]
- Jan Morris (b. 1926), British historian and writer[152]
- Chris Mosier (b. 1980), American athlete[154]
- Ataru Nakamura (b. 1985), Japanese singer[155]
- Dee Palmer (b. 1937), English musician from Jethro Tull[160]
- Kim Petras (b. 1992), German pop singer[165]
- Yasmine Petty, American fashion model and actress
- Stu Rasmussen (b. 1948), first openly transgender Mayor in the United States[170]
- Renée Richards (b. 1934), American athlete and physician[171]
- Eva Robin's (b. 1958), Italian actress and activist[174]
- Allyson Robinson, who served as Army officer Daniel Robinson
- Geena Rocero (b. 1983/1984), Filipina model and activist
- Ali Saleem (b. c. 1979), Pakistani television personality[182]
- Shabnam Mausi, Indian politician[190]
- Theresa Sparks (b. 1949), American politician and entrepreneur[195]
- Rae Spoon (b. 1982), Canadian musician[196]
- Lea T (b. 1981), Brazilian fashion model[202]
- Nong Thoom (b. 1981), Thai athlete, model, and actress[207]
- Billy Tipton (1914–1989), American musician[208]
- Manuela Trasobares (b. 1962), Spanish artist and politician[209]
- Rose Venkatesan, (b. 1980), Famous Indian Tamil TV anchor
- Venus Flytrap, Thai "kathoey" pop group[214]
- Peter Wherrett (1936-2009), Australian author and television presenter[219]
- Stephen Whittle, OBE, PhD (b. 1955), British lawyer, writer, educator and transsexual activist[220]
"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
"You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things.
"They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." -Apple Inc.
..
Found this, might interest you:
ReplyDeletehttp://fallingmasonry.info/masonic-public.html
cheers
A very useful list.
DeleteMany thanks.
- Aangirfan
To know we can, or at least might, overcome this enemy that moves to dim the lights, starve and mass murder us is critical. I appreciate the complexity around 'determinism and free will are not incompatible' from a psychological perspective but theologically the Bible speaks of a not always predictable future due to our freedom and God's dynamic response. Free-will might be 'complicated' but some questions are finally incompatible. Is the future set or open? Are people who are gay or transgender ever blessed by God, accepted and loved? Scripture, reason and tradition determines it for Christians.
ReplyDeleteThe God of surprises is sometimes surprised but always able and willing to lead and empower us to overcome evil. Open theism and accepting of same sex love is out there to be read and considered. Go, go, go Aangirfan, you philosophical theological rabble rouser.
Mark x
How can there be free will if there is precognition?....and there is precognition.
ReplyDeleteParallel universes.
Delete- Aangirfan
Crossroads. Forks in the road. Choices.
DeleteTime is more like an ocean than a flat graph, so it is possible to see waves or ripples emanating from significant future events.
DeleteTo equate free will with "doing the unpredictable" begs the question of whether we ever do what is, at least in theory, unpredictable.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, what use is it to do the unpredictable? You make it sound virtuous, but it could be quite the reverse, like a normally law-abiding citizen pulling out a gun and shooting a total stranger.
The fact is, we will what we will for good or ill and, as discussed here, it seems we have no other option.
The concept of free will is useful only to distinguish between what is done without coercion or upon an insane impulse.
Doing the unpredictable can be either (A) desirable, or, (B) undesirable.
DeleteWhen the criminal does the right thing, that is one example of an unpredictable and desirable action.
- Aangirfan.
It's all about avoiding being manipulated.
Delete- Aangirfan.
How interesting thanks for that one Aangirfan.
DeleteWhen the criminal does the right thing, that is one example of an unpredictable and desirable action.
ReplyDeleteIt may be unexpected, but why should we think it unpredictable? Everyone is a bundle of conflicting motivations. Everyone, therefore, acts well or badly (as we conceive it) depending on specific circumstances. A mass murderer might help an old lady across the street if she reminded him of his mother. Or perhaps he had just read your post on free will, and had the impulse to prove he was capable of doing something good. But the impulse, the response to the stimulus, would still most reasonably be interpreted as a determined event.
But even if it were not, what of it that we sometimes do random and hence unpredictable things? As far as the question of moral responsibility is concerned, we can no more take credit or blame for what is strictly determined than for what occurs as a matter of pure chance. And as far as the sum total of good and bad actions, randomness will surely not tip the balance noticeably in the direction of the good.
And yet, most people feel that they do have free will. And most people feel that George Bush is morally responsible for at least some of his actions.
DeleteYes, the concept of free will is difficult to dispose of. It underlies the concept of moral responsibility, and justifies hanging a man for stealing a sheep, a punishment that many would feel unjustified if the thief really acted as the result of necessity, predetermination, or whatever one wants to call it (i.e., his wife and ten children were starving).
DeleteStill praise and blame, punishment and reward make sense even in a deterministic universe, since the possibility of punishment or reward become determinants of behaviour.
But this view of the world is inconsistent with normal use of language and conventional thinking so we might as well accept free will as a convenient fiction.
today InfoWar radio was discussing the pushing by MSM of homosexuality and transgender people, mostly done under the banner of political correctness.
ReplyDeleteAlex and his British colleague concluded, that this has to be seen in a general context in softening up family values and prepare folks for NWO. I do agree with this assumption.
The boy in above video might definitely have transgender/homosexual? tendencies but then this kid is obviously under heavy influence of the adults to speak out, what looks like, learned statements. The doctor' s declaration "Jazz is 100% girl" has probably a lot to do with the 18k dollars he is raking in... The entire video reminds me very much of the theatrical statements of "the parents/crisis actors" in connection with SandyHoax. I am assuming, if these transgender people would live their sexuality in their original bodies and hormone settings, they would be much better integrated into society. I feel, people who underwent a "sex-change" are mostly emanating "tragical fate, sexual exploitation" specially at older age...
Caveman
Very well put.
Delete- Aangirfan.
But, it is still sad that so many kids commit suicide.
DeleteThe 'powers that be' seem to be promoting both extremes - promoting the homophobia and promoting the 'gay extremism'.
- Aangirfan
A number of years ago (1970's?) a male physician decided to become a woman and went through a "sex change". As a supposed woman, he adopted a child, and became his mother. About ten years had passed and she decided to become a man again. Can you imagine the confusion and embarrassment the child had to face? I feel for both of them. The problem is you can never change the DNA no matter how one feels, or what one thinks. DNA doesn't lie.
ReplyDeleteI would question the doctor's ( from video) motives as well besides the money involved. Very unprofessional to make such a rash statement (100% girl) and on national tv. Hey doc what about the penis? I feel for the little boy who genuinely looks like a little girl (hormone induced of course). What about the long term effects of hormone therapy...like cancer or other diseases?
I would also like to know something about the parents... who are they? What do we know about them?
The late Canadian Psychologist Dr. Money was an evil man and a fraud who destroyed at least one family with his gender bending work. Amerikan television is pure propaganda and has always been. I do not watch it any longer since I left the Matrix. Everything is agenda driven from the news to the comedies to the dramas. Hollywood is the same as well and rarely go to see them. The social planners like Big Corp, Big Banking, Big Religion, The War Machine, etc, are destroying the US from different directions.
I appreciate your blog as there is truth in a lot of it and it has been helpful in my quest for what is really happening though I do not share your views on a number of things (homosexuality, Christianity to name a few).
This is quite false:
ReplyDelete"Who are the people who are being manipulated and who are therefore not free?
It is mainly the ultra-conservatives, the extremists and the fundamentalists."
The mainstream masses, going with the flow and trusting their paternal newsmedia for information and guidance, are clearly the most manipulated, on the face of it.