Posted by Chris O on August 20, 2008, at 13:33:11
Due to my anxiety disorder and depression, I've always had a very external locus of control approach to life and interpreting others' personalities. I pose a question: What percent of personality/behavior is just a matter of the way chemicals (or hormones and genetics) are arranged in our bodies? And, if that percentage is very high, doesn't it pretty much scrap the whole free will argument? Doesn't it do away with the idea of "hero" and "better than/worse than," at least as they are conventionally defined in western individualistic terms? And, might this not help us all organize a new empathic paradigm for relating to others so that we can stop resorting to violence as a way to solve problems?
poster:Chris O
thread:847393
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20080706/msgs/847393.html