Q&A: Between a Decision and a Determination
Between a Decision and a Determination
Question
This is what is written in the holy book Maddei HaFreedom, p. 400:
It seems to me that people may confuse the feeling that I decided with the feeling that I determined. Before pressing the button in Libet's experiment, a person has the feeling that he decided, but not necessarily the feeling that he determined. A "decision" can also be a mental expression of neural arousal, but a "determination" is something that is supposed to take place in our consciousness and result from a process of deliberation. The question is whether what we have here is an illusion of choice or a feeling (not illusory) of decision. It is important to distinguish between these two.
I didn't understand what the difference is between a decision and a determination.
Answer
A decision can be made on the basis of responding to the RP (that is, deterministically), and not from deliberation. A determination is the result of deliberation.
Discussion on Answer
?
I explained. That wasn't a practical difference but a verbal definition. I have nothing to add.
That doesn't explain at all what the difference is *in terms of the feeling*.
You're saying that the "feeling that I decided" means "a decision that can be made on the basis of responding to the RP," and the "feeling that I determined" means "a determination that is the result of deliberation" ????
I explained that a decision is the starting point for carrying something out. That can also happen without any prior determination. By contrast, a determination is the result of deliberation.
That's it. It seems to me that everything is clear. I won't answer any further.
According to the levels of the impulses involved, in ascending order:
Randomize (rolling dice)
Calculate (mathematics)
Choose (among several options)
Prefer (among several options)
Decide (among several preferences)
Determine (among several decisions)
There is no room for free choice in any of them.
I'm not asking what the practical difference is. I'm asking what the simple, literal difference is. What do you call a "decision," and what do you call a "determination"?