Ask HN: What concepts or philosophies guide your life? The two that I most strongly believe in are Determinism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism) and Materialism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialism), which are closely related. As a result, I don't think free will exists, although the definition is probably pretty loose and I do agree that we should play out our lives assuming that we have a say in our decisions even if that is not true. However I realize that some people may not believe in these philosophies that are based on casualty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causality), but rather agree with the beliefs of Free Will (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will) and Indeterminism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indeterminism). So what philosophies do you, HN users, use for governing your lives and how do they influence your perspective on life and the choices you make? Note: I'm sorry if I went a little over the top with the links, but I find that Wikipedia is a really great source when it comes to different philosophies like these ones. |