free will Archives - Lisa Colón DeLay

Do you know Abba Macarius? [SSL 314]

Today we are exploring the Desert Wisdom of Abba Macarius on the strengthening of free will, among other things.

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Esp 121: Consciousness is Not in the Brain- Guest, Eben Alexander, MD

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Today’s guest is neurosurgeon Eben Alexander, MD.

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EPS 48: Free Will, Luck, and Psychopaths- Guest Diana Hsieh

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Spark My Muse releases two audio episodes per week.
WEDNESDAYS are SOUL SCHOOL episodes ( power-packed short episodes for everyday life. )

FRIDAYS are conversational interview style episodes with guests from a wide variety of backgrounds on interesting topics to get you thinking.

Today we are talking about control: Free will, luck (chance), and the power of nature versus nurture in how things in life turn out for us when it comes to these sorts of things. If you enjoy the show, share it with someone, or write a review on iTunes!

Today’s guest is Diana Hsieh, PhD in Philosophy, University of Colorado, Boulder

SHOW NOTES

MIN 6:30

Aristotle’s Ethics

What control in life entails.

MIN 8:00

The power to do something or not do something.

The conditions for moral responsibility and the knowledge of what we are doing.

MIN 10

Psychopaths and DNA. Nature, nurture, and moral responsibility.

James Fallon. Smithsonian Magazine article.

MIN 12:30

Environmental conditions and choice.

Maybe nature and nurture is a false dichotomy.

Blaming people who are raised in tough circumstances and keeping people accountable for their choices too because they know the consequences.

MIN 16:30

Common sense view that you reach an age where you know better.

MIN 18

Self knowledge is powerful. We all have tendencies we have to overcome.

MIN 19

In character building it help when we understand what we have control over and what we don’t.

Know what alternatives there are.

MIN 22

In defense of praise and blame. (How we can improve and be morally responsible.)

MIN 23

Make progress as best as you can.

MIN 24

Is morality relative? Whose morality is right?* (see my note below)

MIN 26

Looking at the practical effects of morality.

Value-based morality.

MIN 28

philosophyinaction.com

philosophyinaction.com/moralluck

*my note: This line of inquiry poses something interesting about a common worldview (though largely an unconscious one) in American culture and it is a discourse quite popular in some circles also about “culturally relative morality” vs. morality sourced and referenced in a Creator who is objectively good and perfect. C.S. Lewis reflects on this in his book “Mere Christianity”. If you are interested in commenting about this in any way, you can do so at the FACEBOOK group PAGE here.

Leaders & Mind Control

The thought crossed my mind that some people could see me naked Saturday, if there is The Rapture. So, really that’d be judgment Day for sure. I should have lost more weight.

It saddens me that some have sold all their things because of believing Harold Camping. I sort of wish he would get beamed out of here on Saturday, so he won’t ruin more lives. And I hope he’s wearing clean underpants.

Only certain kinds of leaders hope to control the mind of their followers. The ones who thrive on gaining power or influence. Creativity and imagination cannot be undermined when we lead. Notice how God is a leader who will not control our minds. God allows that we think freely, and use our personality to cooperate with his work and grace in this world. God is all good. God is ridiculously not power hungry. Bizarre to think about, yet so true.

The best leaders use the minds, gifts, and talents of those they lead for the greater good of all involved. The desire to power is nothing but a trap that leads to disaster. But, how do power hungry leaders control our minds?

Mind Control is a funny thing. Well, an odd thing. Certain people are more susceptible, but influence over one’s thoughts and actions happens when that power is handed over. The absent-minded or the feeble minded may be foolish and permissive with what they possess. Nevertheless, in every case I can think of, the reigns of one’s mind are relinquished, not taken.

Do you have a strong will and mind?

Not so fast! In a VERY common way, many of us let others control our mind too frequnetly. I promise you, your mind has been controlled. Consider this: We may dwell on anger, frustration, or bitterness as we allow others to control our moods, and therefore our heart and mind. We give their words and actions power–because we acquiesce our control. Some influence on the outside gains access over a part of us, inside. We allow it to be so. Hijack is a great word for this! The fruit of the spirit called self-control is developed to fend off this very thing.

Can we be self-controlled in a way that gives over a bit of control to a trustworthy person for the goal of greater good (in our lives and with those around us)? Certainly. AND We Must. Wisely.

Growth will not happen if we seek complete control. It’s a freeze ray, and will cut us off from life. Hyper-control=bad. How do we strike a balance?

And now for the biggest challenge you’ll have all week. Let me control your mind. I should explain: Put yourself in a place to receive spiritual guidance. Contact me with something spiritual, emotional, mental, or situational that you are struggling with, and I will pray about it and together we will see where God is, in all of it. We’ll communicate a bit, and see where growth can happen. We will relinquish the part of our control we have let arrest our growth. Yet, we will keep our self-control in that we will be wise with what we have in body and mind. Option B: Do this with a trusted friend, and let us in on your process.

Will you take my challenge?
AND
What are your thoughts on leadership and mind control?

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Soul, mind, and heart: Not understanding the Biblical text

Which one sounds wrong?

A. Do you have the guts?
B. Put your heart into it.
C. Make up your heart.

What is the heart?
The answer might surprise you.

In modern times, the “heart” has been called, “the feeling mind”. That sounds pretty good to me. What do you think?

A recent visitor responded to my post Is Chocolate Filling my God-shaped Hole? with the comment below (edited down). I think it would help to respond through a post, also. Now we can open up the whole thing to dialogue a bit more. Thanks for your contribution on this topic.

Visitor Response to Post–Submitted: on 2010/12/03 at 3:10 pm
The way I look at it, viewing the heart and mind as separate is extrabiblical; thus, in fact, “that thing that ‘falls in love’ or gets sentimental” *is* the mind. So the modern “follow your heart” does not connote the *opposite* of the biblical “heart,” but rather only *part* of it. Bottom line, I can’t trust my mind or my heart, or even my own spirit completely… only God is 100% trustworthy. As for filling our “voids” with things “besides” God, I try to remember that God gets the credit for all good things anyway…

My response:
I should have also pointed out [within that post] that the Hebrew equivalent of the emotions or passions (what many now consider the “heart”) were also referred to differently than the mind (i.e. set a different category, if you will–the bowels or “guts”). The “guts” implied connection with those qualities of emotion, and so forth.

To sum up: In the Bible, (most especially in the Old Testament)…

1. What is translated as “heart” (in the KJV and others) is closer to what we now term as “the mind”. More specifically, the individual’s command center, or the place where decisions are made– which includes the will.

2. What we may think of as “the heart” that is, passions, desires, emotions, in the Hebrew language is connected with “the guts” or “bowels” of a person. For instance, “In his guts he loved her”. Yes, it sounds awkward, at best.

Even more controversy:
THE SOUL

There is a big dissimilarity in the Hebrew vs. English renditions of the word often translated in English as “soul”. In Hebrew, it refers to the whole being. The whole person (So, no. It does not mean a ghosty thing that floats to the clouds like in Warner Brother cartoons). We can understand it in our context more this way when we say, “30 souls were lost [died] in the shipwreck.”

Hey, everyone, please, weigh in.
This post is open to opinions, thoughts, comments, or if you’re of the particular stripe…exegesis.
(Yes. That’s the BIG word of the day.)

Exegesis (EGGs -eh- Jesus) is this definition here. It’s not a variant, or French spelling of “Eggs and Cheeses” which we may be tempted to think at first blush, right?

"Eggs and Cheeses" (Not Exegesis)

(click photo to find its source)

Tomorrow’s post–
“Does your Breakfast (and your deity) make you AWESOME?”