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Full Idea
Faced with our inability to 'see' where the centre or source of our free actions is,…we exploit the gaps in our self-knowledge by filling it with a mysterious entity, the unmoved mover, the active self.
Gist of Idea
The active self is a fiction created because we are ignorant of our motivations
Source
Daniel C. Dennett (Elbow Room: varieties of free will [1984], §4.1)
Book Ref
Dennett,Daniel C.: 'Elbow Room - Free will worth wanting' [MIT 1999], p.79
A Reaction
I am convinced that there is no such things as free will; its origins are to be found in religion, where it is a necessary feature of a very supreme God. I don't believe for a moment that we need to believe in free will.
| 3159 | Beliefs and desires aren't real; they are prediction techniques [Dennett] |
| 3796 | The active self is a fiction created because we are ignorant of our motivations [Dennett] |
| 3986 | The 'intentional stance' is a way of interpreting an entity by assuming it is rational and self-aware [Dennett] |
| 3161 | If mind is just an explanation, the explainer must have beliefs [Rey on Dennett] |