Free will and consciousness

[Jim__]

30. People seem to have a pretty good idea about how to make thoughts "pop into our heads."

They write an article or start a conversation about something they want us to think about. That approach seems to work. When I read your post about free will, I started to think about free will. My conscious train of thought about free will led me to the question, how can I test whether or not I have free will. That question led me to ask, can I raise my arm at any time. People deliberately perform certain acts - for instance, writing a post - in order to effect other people's conscious thoughts. It works. One conscious thought can follow another in a rational sequence. That does not lead to an infinite regress.

But, granting for the sake of argument that thoughts just pop into our heads, that doesn't mean that they force us to take some action. For instance, if I am walking down the street, and suddenly, unbidden and lacking all explanation, the thought punch John Smith in the nose the next time you see him pops into my consciousness, I don't have to do that. I can consciously follow this unbidden thought with the thought, No, that would be stupid. You have no reason to punch John Smith in the nose. So, even if thoughts occasionally just pop into my head, I am not a slave to those thoughts. I still have the ability to freely choose my actions.