I think Seth is not so much contradicting you here but using a deterministic definition of “self” as that which we are referring to as a particular categorisation of the deterministic process, the one experienced as “making decisions”, and importantly “deliberating over decisions”. Whether we are determined or not, the effort one puts into their choices is not wasted, it is data-processing that produces better outcomes in general.
One might be determined to throw in the towel on cognitive effort if they were to take a particular interpretation of determinism, and they, and the rest of us, would be worse off for it. So, the more of us who expend the effort to convince others of the benefits of continuing cognitive effort in spite of a deterministic universe are doing a service to the future, determined or otherwise.
Cognitive effort is inevitable. It would take a special kind of ‘person who fails the psychopath test’, somehow lacking urges/feelings, to be able to switch off completely and fade into nothingness.
What I’m meaning to say is that if you naively believe that “you” (as in someone’s sense of self—a result of their genes, experiences and reflections) have no control over yourself, you might feel a lot more relaxed about past mistakes, or future ones since you have a ready excuse, resulting in lazy decision-making (decision-making involving less effort), of course you’ll probably still satisfy the bare necessities for survival—although some of the early existentialists sound like they would barely bother with this.
Of course those same existentialists did write long, ground-breaking books that no doubt required significant cognitive effort, so “shrugs”.
I think Seth is not so much contradicting you here but using a deterministic definition of “self” as that which we are referring to as a particular categorisation of the deterministic process, the one experienced as “making decisions”, and importantly “deliberating over decisions”. Whether we are determined or not, the effort one puts into their choices is not wasted, it is data-processing that produces better outcomes in general.
One might be determined to throw in the towel on cognitive effort if they were to take a particular interpretation of determinism, and they, and the rest of us, would be worse off for it. So, the more of us who expend the effort to convince others of the benefits of continuing cognitive effort in spite of a deterministic universe are doing a service to the future, determined or otherwise.
Precisely what I meant, good catch on the effort bit.
Cognitive effort is inevitable. It would take a special kind of ‘person who fails the psychopath test’, somehow lacking urges/feelings, to be able to switch off completely and fade into nothingness.
What I’m meaning to say is that if you naively believe that “you” (as in someone’s sense of self—a result of their genes, experiences and reflections) have no control over yourself, you might feel a lot more relaxed about past mistakes, or future ones since you have a ready excuse, resulting in lazy decision-making (decision-making involving less effort), of course you’ll probably still satisfy the bare necessities for survival—although some of the early existentialists sound like they would barely bother with this.
Of course those same existentialists did write long, ground-breaking books that no doubt required significant cognitive effort, so “shrugs”.