[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by dead_battery

we know from neuroscience that we basically have no free will or intentionality, but that it evolved as a way for us to take social responsibility of behaviours, which obviously is a vitally important tool that has lots of benefits and survival mechanisms built into it.

right-- it's not that free will doesn't exist, it's that it's LIMITED.

you can't quit smoking and go on a diet and exercise and work on a big project deadline or final exams and deal with a hostile work environment and relationship failures all at the same time. it's fucking impossible. there is only so much self-control available during the day (you have more when you're fresh, less when you're tired, which is why people tend to gorge themselves with pizza in the evenings).

this "free will" (or whatever) requires judicious management so that it can hit the critical points of the enemy instead of punching everyone everywhere all the time. automate most things and focus on the one thing.

this is of course not a cure-all. life is still fucked in millions of ways. but it's a way to manage the small portion of things one can manage.

and of course changing your environment helps a lot. it's much easier to quit smoking in boulder than in las vegas. the "individual" is overrated.