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Ken, Bob, and Tom:
Thanks for your concern about my health. I saw a radiation oncologist this afternoon but I suspect it will be a couple of weeks--or maybe a couple of months--before we decide how to treat this situation. Luckily there good options and no rush.
I want to pursue this concern I have with differentiating free will from self-change. I would tell you that I think there is a difference but exactly what is the difference...and does the difference make a difference (as I want to believe it does)? Let's see, exactly what is "free will?" Is it just deciding you want to make some change without having any plan for actually making the change? Suppose you want to exercise more and all you do is think of walking every day, is that "free will" if you actually start walking most days after thinking "I should walk?" If you set up some system to get you walking almost every day, such as asking a friend to get up at 6:00 AM and walk with you, setting a timer every day to signal "exercise time," or getting your spouse to give you $5 for new golf clubs every time you exercise for a full hour at the YMCA and get your t-shirt sweaty, is that self-control and not "free will?"
Do you see what I mean? Behavior modification is self-change based on sound procedures, e.g. using a signal to trigger a desired response, but using the mind's memory to trigger a desired response would be "will" and not intentional self-change? Help me make a meaningful distinction.
Clay
Clay Tucker-Ladd, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist & Author of
Psychological Self-Help
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