The Forum > Article Comments > Joe Biden won the 2020 election against Donald Trump, when Kamala Harris, also a Democrat, could not in 2024? Why? > Comments
Joe Biden won the 2020 election against Donald Trump, when Kamala Harris, also a Democrat, could not in 2024? Why? : Comments
By Peter Bowden, published 27/11/2024There are a multitude of eminent people who have argued whether or not we have free will. This paper sets out the assertions of these writers, both for and against.
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Dear Peter,
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You wrote :
« Joe Biden won the 2020 election against Donald Trump, when Kamala Harris, also a Democrat, could not in 2024? Why? I hope this question has been answered »
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Having closely observed events leading up to the US presidential election and reflected on the results, I think I have a fair idea of why Kamala Harris lost to Trump.
Perhaps you indicated in your article the reason why she lost, but I can’t say I noticed it personally. But please don’t be offended if you did. I have difficulty understanding the subtleties of academic language. If things are not stated plainly and clearly, it usually passes way over my head.
Free will, which you discuss at great length in your article, is a different matter. That is something I do understand.
I see free will as a functional advantage developed by nature. It is autonomy, the autonomy of the individual. Its acquisition and development are progressive. It is an evolutive mode of functioning. It has been evolving ever since the apparition of life on earth of which human beings are by far the most advanced form. We have long surpassed all other forms of life and all other animal species in terms of autonomy and continue to make progress, generation after generation. Though there may be important differences in the rate of development of autonomy among individuals due to all the variables that contribute to its evolution, progress is nevertheless achieved during the lifetime of each individual. Beneficial mutations and experiences continue to accumulate over time, multiplying and diversifying choice patterns to an ever-greater degree of complexity until the individual is no longer held to obey any particular predetermined course of behaviour, gaining in the autonomy we call free will.
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(Continued …)
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