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Those books are different from how I remembered…

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  • It's difficult to predict the path of a leaf floating in the wind, but I don't think anybody would say a leaf has agency.

    • It’s difficult to predict the path of a leaf floating in the wind

      Orders of magnitude less difficult, as the leaf can't glean your intent and respond accordingly.

      • Can you prove that?

        • That the movement of a leaf in the wind is less complex than the electro-chemical processes of a human brain?

          With enough time and math, certainly.

          • The point is, you were using the point that a fly's movements were complex to argue that a fly has internal agency. But, a leaf floating on the wind also has complex movements. To me, that makes it seem like complex movements aren't a solid indicator of agency.

            If you're now talking about dissection, that's a whole different argument.

            • a fly’s movements were complex to argue that a fly has internal agency

              A fly has the ability to observe its surroundings and adjust its position in response to outside stimulus. A leaf does not. That, alone, adds a dimension of activity that the first possesses and the second doesn't.

              You can argue that the fly is still a deterministic agent, but the ability to observe and respond adds a dimension of activity that's more complex than a leaf, which can only move based on the surrounding wind currents.

88 comments