By Anon
Imagine a fundamentalist Christian couple who decide to do something unpredictable – like accepting that God made some people gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.
Imagine a person brought up as fan of Hitler deciding to accept that the Nazis are mainly criminals.
Philosopher Daniel Dennett says free will is much more complicated than many people believe
Daniel Dennett says determinism and free will are not incompatible.
There are low-level forms of causation (one ball hits another one and it causes the second one to move) and higher level forms of causation.
A criminal might commit a crime ‘because he was born criminal and brought up criminal.”
But, the criminal is free to do the ‘unpredictable’ and to be good.
The criminal is free to think about his actions.
You can be unpredictable.
Joshua – Leelah
You can avoid being manipulated.
“Freedom, of the important kind, of the kind worth wanting, is freedom from being manipulated.”
Who are the people who are being manipulated and who are therefore not free?
It is mainly the ultra-conservatives, the extremists and the fundamentalists.
Think of the fundamentalist Jew who is not free to marry a Moslem.
Think of the White racist who is not free to make friends with a Black neighbour.
Think of the fundamentalist Communist who is not free to enjoy the benefits of moderate capitalism.
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Joshua – Leelah
Joshua Alcorn wanted to be a girl called Leelah.
Joshua Alcorn suffered pain and abuse from his fundamentalist Christian parents.
Joshua’s parents forced him into conversion therapy, and had her see Christian therapists.
Joshua committed suicide.
Fundamentalists are being manipulated by evil ideas.
The world is full of transgender people, such as:
- Marja-Sisko Aalto (b. 1954), Finnish Evangelic-Lutheran priest[1]
- Aderet (b. 1976), Israeli pop singer[4]
- Rebecca Allison (b. 1946), American cardiologist
- Mianne Bagger (b. 1966), Danish golfer[23]
- Jenny Bailey, English politician; former Mayor of Cambridge[24]
- Jeanne Baré (1740–1803), French botanist
- Georgina Beyer (b. 1957), New Zealander politician[31]
- Chaz Bono (b. 1969), American singer and activist[34]
- Willmer “Little Ax” Broadnax (1916–1994), American Gospel tenor[39]
- Sarah Brown (politician), British politician
- Balian Buschbaum (b. 1980), German pole vaulter and two time European Championship bronze medalist[42]
- Lynda Cash English Navy officer[51]
- Choi Han-bit, South Korean model[55]
- Cindy Thái Tài, Vietnamese singer, model[56]
- Mary Elizabeth Clark (b. 1938), Episcopal Sister[57]
- Angela Clayton, British physicist
- Coccinelle (1931–2006), French singer and entertainer[61]
- Roberta Cowell (1918–2011), World War 2 fighter pilot, and the first British trans woman to have undergone gender reassignment[68]
- <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Dee" title="Baby Visit Site