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Fri 27 Nov, 2015 11:32 pm
Context:
Our belief in free will arises from our moment-to-moment ignorance of specific
prior causes. The phrase "free will" describes what it feels like to be identified with the content of each thought as it arises in consciousness. Trains of thought like, "What shouldI get my daughter for her birthday? I know, I'll take her to a pet store and have her pick out some tropical fish," convey the apparent reality of choices, freely made. But from a deeper perspective (speaking both subjectively and objectively), thoughts simply arise (what else could they do?) unauthored and yet author to our actions.
-The Moral Landscape
@oristarA,
"It" is being used as a formal object referring to the phrase, "to be identified."
I think it's an expletive construction embedded in a relative clause. If so, it's a dummy subject. No referent.
@FBM,
FBM wrote:
I think it's an expletive construction embedded in a relative clause. If so, it's a dummy subject. No referent.
If so, what is the real subject then?
@oristarA,
The sentence can be recast in the following way without changing the message, I think:
Original: The phrase "free will" describes what it feels like to be identified with the content of each thought as it arises in consciousness.
Recast: The phrase "free will" describes the feeling of identifying [oneself] with the content of each thought as it arises in the consciousness.
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