On Abstruse Thinking

Regardless of efforts from philosophers like David Hume, philosophical thinking remains an abstruse activity that alienates most who try and engage in it. Nevertheless, it remains a useful tool - at least, in my own experience - in critically examining the various issues we, as people, face from day to day, in social and spiritual contexts. (By spiritual, I mean the ways in which we discover value in our lives, and how we percieve and cope with death; in no way do I understand spirtuality as uniquely religious, or pertaining specifically to God). If an attempt can be made to secularize philosophy thinking, so to speak, by breaking down its obscure language and arguments, and making them more accessible to those who might benefit from its use, I think it should be done. That's not to say it should be easy; philosophy, by its very nature, requires people who are willing to think seriously, and spend time doing so.

Of Free Will, Section 1

The debate over whether or not humankind has free will is one with a rich philosophical history. Given the nature of the question, however, it's highly unlikely the debate will ever reach a conclusion. It's a question answered by countless undemonstrable hypotheses, that are interesting, sure, but which fail to recognize the hard truth: that, in all probability, the question is impossible to answer with certainty.

In his Twilight of the Idols, Friedrich Nietzsche talks about free will in a different context. Instead of asking whether or not humankind is free, he asks what the consequences are of humankind believing they're free. In these posts, I'd like to discuss two different ways of looking at Nietzsche's rethinking of the question of free will. On the one hand, there's a social component to the question, which is Nietzsche's focus. On the other hand, there's a philosophical component which needs to be elaborated upon, because I think it's important in understanding where contemporary thinkers, particularly Michel Foucault, situate their philosophical thinking.