DO COMPUTERS HAVE FREE WILL?

While the great majority of people believe that humans have free will, virtually no one thinks that computers do.   But consider the following thought experiment:  Assume that technology advanced to the point that a functioning computer could be built in a lab that consisted not of silicon-based semiconductor chips but of billions of flesh-and-blood neurons, molecule for molecule and cell for cell identical to a human brain. Would such a computer have free will?

FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS: A COMPARISON

One conclusion I have come to after years of discussions with Christians is that much of our disagreement is ultimately grounded not in the differences in our beliefs or even in the differences in the logic that we rely upon but in the fundamental working assumptions that underlie our understanding of the nature of the world.

DECEMBER SNOW

Here's a brief poem, in the voice of an older gentleman, about the importance in the course of our quotidian lives to reflect upon and appreciate the simple joys.

OATMEAL

I was 10 years old, and I hated oatmeal.

DOES GOD HAVE FREE WILL?

Does God have free will?  What?!  For most Christians, the question may seem almost absurd, the answer obvious:  Of course, God has free will.  After all, he’s, well, God.  And the question may seem even sillier coming from someone who believes neither in God nor in free will.  But for those who believe in a personal, theistic God to whom they ascribe certain qualities and a certain character, I don’t believe the answer to the question is obvious.  So, in all seriousness, for those who believe in a personal God as well as for those who don’t, I offer the question as a way of reviewing the character of God and exploring the meaning of free will.