tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post5828976363577360934..comments2023-08-20T04:55:39.436-07:00Comments on Ars Psychiatrica: If Only...Novalishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501890494890617030noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-63904428782276933832009-03-15T21:10:00.000-07:002009-03-15T21:10:00.000-07:00If we could selectively erase memories would we ha...If we could selectively erase memories would we haphazardly degrade the integrity of our perceived choices by wantonly sabotaging any higher order thought process involved in concretising decisions by simply taking a random stab in the dark of infinite possibility, and then with the wisdom of hindsight/consequence, prune the eventualities/memory scars not to our taste? Would humans be reduced to automata capable of generating every programmable scenario cmpletely devoid of any meaningful impetus, with each option being theoretically equal until given retroactive status? <BR/><BR/>Or conversely, is the theoraetical ability to 'choose' from a plethora of endpoint memories make for an enhanced decision outcome? Or, does the inevitability of the best choice make for a dull existential neutrality? Would we sacrifice the essential self in exchange for a flawless memory slate that's over-refined to the point blankness? We know how too much choice in trivial life matters results in the endless torturous loop of 'what if/if only....' dissatisfaction. Imagine the consequent existential catastrophe/malaise of choosing how to edit your core being, and then having to live with hell of self-talk - I mean, how can you be sure the chosen memory will result in the best state of being; whta looks ok in the brochure, so to speak, may become hideously mutilated in translation to the reality of your present lived-in mindscape. Or even if you could re-edit/undo memory erasure, and re-establish other possibilities, wouldnt you just drown in pathological indecision, always switching never committing - a perpetual state of not-being; reduced to a process of becoming an idealised parody of the self, no longer being..no longer human? The paradox of being a prisoner of free will...<BR/><BR/>Memories determine us. Maybe amnesiacs are the ultimate freewillers. But what's the point of willing if you can't remember the freedom that elicited it? Yet another prison...<BR/><BR/>Determinsm is a life sentence. Free will is a temporary feeling of reprieve; a micromoment dissociated from thought; a phenomenon that's real as long as it lasts and can't be broken by physics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-39752887828369481312009-03-15T18:07:00.000-07:002009-03-15T18:07:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Retrieverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09036341287285545932noreply@blogger.com