It is often assumed that indeterminism can only come into play as part of a complex process of decision-making when the deterministic element has reached an impasse, and indeterminism has the “casting vote” (like an internalised version of tossing a coin when you cannot make up your mind). This model, which we call the Buridan model, has the advantage that you have some level of commitment to both courses of action; neither is exactly against your wishes. It is, however, not so good for rationality and self-control. The indetermistic coin-toss can reasonably be seen as “the” crucial cause of your decision, yet it is not under your control.
In our model, by contrast, the indeterministic element is moved back in the decision-making process. A functional unit we call the “Random Idea Generator” proposed multiple ideas and courses of action, which are then pruned back by a more-or-less deterministic process called the “Sensible Idea Selector”. (This arrangement is structurally modeled on random mutation and natural selection in Darwinian theory). The output of the R.I.G is “controlled” in the sense that the rest of the system does not have to act on its proposals. It can filter out anything too wild or irrational. Nonetheless, in a “rewinding history” scenario, the individual could have acted differently, as required by libertarian free will, because their R.I.G. could have come out with different proposals — and it would still be something they wanted to do, because it would not have been translated into action without the consent of the rest of the neural apparatus. (As naturalists, we take it that a “self” is the sum total of neural activity and not a ghost-in-the-machine).
It is often assumed that indeterminism can only come into play as part of a complex process of decision-making when the deterministic element has reached an impasse, and indeterminism has the “casting vote” (like an internalised version of tossing a coin when you cannot make up your mind). This model, which we call the Buridan model, has the advantage that you have some level of commitment to both courses of action; neither is exactly against your wishes. It is, however, not so good for rationality and self-control. The indetermistic coin-toss can reasonably be seen as “the” crucial cause of your decision, yet it is not under your control.
In our model, by contrast, the indeterministic element is moved back in the decision-making process. A functional unit we call the “Random Idea Generator” proposed multiple ideas and courses of action, which are then pruned back by a more-or-less deterministic process called the “Sensible Idea Selector”. (This arrangement is structurally modeled on random mutation and natural selection in Darwinian theory). The output of the R.I.G is “controlled” in the sense that the rest of the system does not have to act on its proposals. It can filter out anything too wild or irrational. Nonetheless, in a “rewinding history” scenario, the individual could have acted differently, as required by libertarian free will, because their R.I.G. could have come out with different proposals — and it would still be something they wanted to do, because it would not have been translated into action without the consent of the rest of the neural apparatus. (As naturalists, we take it that a “self” is the sum total of neural activity and not a ghost-in-the-machine).