Posted: Feb 26, 2017 3:39 pm
realNutjob wrote:But what about the concept of desire? I think we can all agree that desires are the cause of suffering and desires can be both conscious and unconscious(no known cause is there but it is being experienced). However, in this reality, we always have the free will to veto desires. Either disregard it or accept that it will not be satisified since we can see no way to satisfy. When we veto, the desire ends and thus the suffering ends.
Numbering three central claims in this paragraph:
1. Desires are the cause of suffering.
2. In this reality we always have the free will to veto desires.
3. When we veto a desire the suffering ends.
From 2. and 3. it follows that:
4. In this reality we always have the free will to end suffering.
Strictly this would only be suffering that comes from desires, but 1. informs us that all suffering comes from desires, and hence the consequence of this paragraph is that all humans can always end all suffering by application of their free will.
I would suggest this is refuted clearly by the real world, in which much suffering is the product of chance that cannot be avoided by simple application of free will. Sometimes, for example, people get serious diseases, or injured in accidents. They suffer, not because of an application of free will, but unavoidably. They cannot choose to be disease free by thought alone, they cannot choose not to be in pain by thought alone.