If one is convinced that one is right when he or she is wrong, this can lead to catastrophes. I remember a mentally ill person who jumped off a tall building believing that he would fly like Neo flew in the movie called "The Matrix". Sadly, he was severely injured.

I agree with you. News reports and history books often include selected 'truths' while omitting inconvenient truths.

It is possible that what I perceive is either a dream or a hallucination or an illusion or a simulation and not objectively real. — Truth Seeker

I would disagree with this assertion. In order for one to understand what is a dream, hallucination, illusion, or simulation, one must contrast this with what it is not. This is the world in which we interact with, talk about, act on, born into, communicate with others, learn from others; basically, the background in which we accept and act in. For example, one typically learns the concept of "dreaming" from their parent when upon waking up from sleeping they begin to report strange accounts that never happened with a subsequent reassuring from the parent that all was a dream.

I agree with you but it is still possible that your perceived reality is a simulation or dream or hallucination or illusion. That's why I said I am 99.99% certain that my perceived reality is actually real — Truth Seeker

Illusions, hallucinations and reality like dreaming are possible in perceptions. But one normally has the ability for judgement on the state of the perceptions, as truths or falsity.

That is why I said, truth is one's judgement on one's perception.

When perception is not 100% certain for its reality or truth, one will go through doubting, observations, verification processes to re-evaluate the perception, if it is not directly inferable for truth, and will come to judgement on the perception whether it is true or not.

Truth can change through time. Even scientific truth can change to falsity by new discovery of the evidence or facts by repeated observations or changes of the conditions and situations in the environment.

Situation or knowledge you always believed as truth can change due to change of mind by your friends or partners. Only your judgement can tell you whether you have 100% certain truth or not.

I believe that philosophy is the study of doubting, observing, evaluating, thinking and verifying perceived contents.

I agree with you. News reports and history books often include selected 'truths' while omitting inconvenient truths. — Truth Seeker

I agree with you too. My position is to leave open minded for conclusions and judgements on what cannot be directly seen, heard and proved with my own eyes, ears, feelings and thoughts. :)

Yes, we do learn the label "dream" from our caregivers. However, that does not preclude the possibility of our perceived reality being dream or hallucination or illusion or simulation. According to Hinduism, our perceived reality is an illusion called Maya. It's impossible to prove or disprove this claim. Of course, just because we can't disprove an idea it does not make it true. It does not make it false either. It is an untestable idea.

This is wise.

I agree with you.

Of course, just because we can't disprove an idea it does not make it true. It does not make it false either. It is an untestable idea. — Truth Seeker

This is what we call an imagination producing a fiction. For example, I can enjoy a novel of fiction where the author has a rich history of some made up land. But there is no proving that this fictional history is true or false.

What I really want to do is go back in time and prevent all suffering, inequality, injustice, and deaths and make all living things forever happy but I can't do it. I am doing things I don't want to do. I can't do what I want to do. So, how can I have free will? — Truth Seeker

Free will is relative. No one, since born, can be truly free. We are molded into what we are so we will forever carry things in our bone and blood. They can also be our prison. So I assume free will is what you choose to believe and do in combat with the restraints posed by your own history.

If we could just make someone believe, then we would be able to implement it in our school systems. We would be able to eliminate intellectual disability completely.

retardedness — elucid

Pretty ugly word.

Yes, but I mean no offense. It's just used to refer to a condition. Which word would you use?

https://www.aruma.com.au/about-us/blog/two-words-you-need-to-remove-from-your-vocabulary/

Thanks!

I agree with you.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Did you see the Robert Sapolsky video?

I have. I watched his lectures in human behavior. They are fatanstic :D

I agree.

Truth is your mental judgement on something ONLY when you are fully conscious. Therefore when you are dreaming or hallucinating, truth does not apply as an issue.

What I really want to do is go back in time and prevent all suffering, inequality, injustice, and deaths and make all living things forever happy but I can't do it. I am doing things I don't want to do. I can't do what I want to do. So, how can I have free will? — Truth Seeker

Free Will is for the freewill to choose or decide on given options. For example, you choose to drink coffee or tea or beer or nothing. You decide to go home instead to the shopping centre.

Free Will is not the freewill to play God like an omnipotent being doing superhuman things, magics or saving and helping others who are in troubles. :)

Truth is not one's judgement on something. Truth is what is real. If I say that I went to the Moon for a holiday when I actually did not go there, that's a lie. If I say I live on Earth and I actually live on Earth then that's a truth. Hallucinations and dreams are true in the sense that they happen to us and they affect us.

There is no universally accepted definition of free will. My definition of free will is a will that is free from determinants and constraints. I clearly don't have free will because my will is both determined and constrained by my genes, environments, nutrients, and experiences. I clearly have a determined and constrained will instead of a free will.

Did you watch the Robert Sapolsky video?

Truth is not one's judgement on something. Truth is what is real. If I say that I went to the Moon for a holiday when I actually did not go there, that's a lie. If I say I live on Earth and I actually live on Earth then that's a truth. Hallucinations and dreams are true in the sense that they happen to us and they affect us. — Truth Seeker

But all your sayings sound like your judgements.   You say something is a lie. It is your judgement.  You say something is true. It is your judgement.  I don't know whether you have been to the Moon for your holiday, or whether you are from the Moon.  The sayings are your judgements. Until you ask me about them, I am not even aware of these stories.  When you asked me, then I will make my own judgements if they were true or false.

When you are dreaming or hallucinating, you are not concerned if they are real or not.  You only judge them as real or not, when you are fully conscious.

There is no universally accepted definition of free will. My definition of free will is a will that is free from determinants and constraints. I clearly don't have free will because my will is both determined and constrained by my genes, environments, nutrients, and experiences. I clearly have a determined and constrained will instead of a free will. — Truth Seeker

OK, if you say, there is no universal definition of free will, that is your judgement. I was not talking about the universal definition of free will. But I was suggesting the concept of free will in the most logical sense.

Free will is only applicable, if you have the option to choose by your own decision not forced or controlled by any other external means, situations or conditions.

Your decision based on your mental operation, be it your logic, desire or biological condition whatever on something that you decided to do or not do. This is the only logical sense of free will to me.

We are not talking about some superhuman magic helping and saving troubled people or bringing back the dead from the ancient times ... etc, and say that is your free will. It sounds like some Harry Potter movies.

No, I don't know that name. I don't watch TVs or the Internet. In my spare time, I would go out and do some gardening, or read old books.

I don't think of statements as judgements. 1 + 1 = 2 is true. The Earth orbits the Sun is true. The Earth orbits Mars is false. These are not judgements. These are truthful statements. An example of a judgement would be: X is guilty of murdering Y.

I have read many contradictory definitions of free will and don't agree with any of them. That's why I came up with my own definition. If you don't agree with my definition that's ok with me. I don't ask anyone to agree with me about anything. This is an excerpt of an interview of Robert Sapolski https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaxHTYtSavc It is 19 minutes 52 seconds long. You can watch it if you want to. It's fine with me if you don't want to watch it. He is a professor at Stanford University. Please see https://profiles.stanford.edu/robert-sapolsky if you want to know more about him and his research and publications.

This is an excerpt of an interview of Robert Sapolski... — Truth Seeker

Great clip!

Not to say you deserve any praise for posting it. :razz:

I don't think of statements as judgements. 1 + 1 = 2 is true. The Earth orbits the Sun is true. The Earth orbits Mars is false. These are not judgements. These are truthful statements. An example of a judgement would be: X is guilty of murdering Y. — Truth Seeker

I have never said that statement is judgement. I said truth is judgement. 1+1=2 is a statement. To say it is true is a judgement. "The Earth orbits the Sun." is a statement. To say "It is true." is a judgement. Please bear in mind that the statement was not a true statement before time of Galileo and Copernicus. There are still lots of people out there who believe that The Earth is flat, and the centre of the universe.
And there are many cases in reality where 1+1=x depending on the circumstances, situations and the subjects and time spans, and have you thought about the case of "possible worlds"?

"X is guilty of murdering Y." can also be a belief or inference too.

I have read many contradictory definitions of free will and don't agree with any of them. That's why I came up with my own definition. If you don't agree with my definition that's ok with me. I don't ask anyone to agree with me about anything. This is an excerpt of an interview of Robert Sapolski https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaxHTYtSavc It is 19 minutes 52 seconds long. You can watch it if you want to. It's fine with me if you don't want to watch it. He is a professor at Stanford University. Please see https://profiles.stanford.edu/robert-sapolsky if you want to know more about him and his research and publications. — Truth Seeker

Fair enough. Thank you for the link, and information. :)