0 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: Which side shoulders the burden of proof?
What empirical measurement can we make to determine the age at which free will starts?
Minus conception. I'd argue for humans, the sperm cell is already showing a sign of trying to survive. Any form of life or almost life with a flagellum is demonstrating effort. Perhaps the sperm cell doesn't understand what it is trying to do but I'd argue the rock isn't trying to be or do anything. Maybe the sperm isn't trying to reach the egg and it is a matter of luck that it gets through once it is in the vaginal area. If that is the case then some time after birth, the infant is clearly trying to navigate his environment and that is a matter of intentionality because he soon realizes that just because he is hungry doesn't mean he will get fed straight away. He feels the need to be fed once out of the womb and that delay may not have been so apparent while being nurtured through the placenta.
Comment by twilsonco at 03/09/2024 at 15:16 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
So a microscopic organism that reacts in a completely predictable way based on environmental factors like heat and light is demonstrating free will?
In that case you could argue that the atoms in a rock are using their free will to stay in the rock?
If everything has free will then it's a meaningless term. If not everything has free will then there needs to be a clear distinction where it begins.
Comment by FarHuckleberry2029 at 03/09/2024 at 08:40 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Sperm is a container with half of DNA, it doesn't have a brain and is not sentient. Its only purpose is to fertilize the female egg which is also a living cell. Once the sperm fertilizes the egg it typically dies, only its DNA survive and enters the egg. So technically the sperm doesn't survive after fertilization, it sacrifices its life to fertilize the egg