jessica amber murray
the issue of free will has come up a lot lately, specifically this question of whether certain types of behaviour are free or coerced. it's a very difficult point. you can't even really rely on what people say, as they may not be fully aware of how they're being coerced. so, how do you figure this out?

as an anarchist, i tend to lean towards the idea that most behaviour - and by that i mean most behaviour, in general - is deeply coerced by the structures of power that exist around us. that runs the spectrum from where or if you go to work to what kind of cereal you had this morning. that position has as many pitfalls as it's liberal anti-thesis, which is that we're always free to do whatever we choose (and tend to make well thought-out, rational decisions).

the error i think we all make, and i'm as guilty of this as everybody else, is that we tend to generalize one way or the other. this is a particularly egregious error due to the immense subtlety of the question.

what i think we all need to do when the question comes up is realize that every presentation of the question is unique. two similar people making similar choices could be the result of a free choice on one hand and deep coercion on the other. we can talk about coercive, systemic pressures, and seek to abolish them as much as possible, but we can't always make the assumption that similar acts - even with similar contexts! - are similarly derived.

that's a struggle for everybody, coming at the question from every perspective.

norman dee
Have you read any Camus in regards to freedom/free will?

jessica amber murray
no. people have been telling me for years i should read some camus, and i agree i should. i think i get the idea, though, through other sources. and i think he's been backed up through some experiments in psychology.

norman dee
Well, im not going to tell u to read him then. Just that he's had a huge impact on my life and my outlook and is someone who i keep going back too.

jessica amber murray
i've repeatedly been told i'm practically quoting him...i have this suspicion that, when i finally get around to it, it's going to seem like i'm reading my own writing. which is maybe why it's not at the top of the list.

i am making getting through the stack of books i have here a priority, though. got through a large pynchon text (mason & dixon) the other day, and have jumped to a gibson text (pattern recognition). there's a ton of classics i've picked up at garage sales for $0.50 each to get through (i'm thinking i'm going to go with some thoreau, next).

norman dee
I've only ever read civil disobedience and some of walden. I really really want to read gravitys rainbow.. I think thats pynchon if im not mistaken? If u are seriously going to get into camus, i would really recommend looking into what sartre was writing/doing at the time of said camus book. From 39 onwards they had a thing going

... A competing thing. If u can find it theres a book out by oxford press called... Yup.. Sartre & camus. Its really interesting and enlightening.

jessica amber murray
that is pynchon. probably my favourite book, ever.