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addressed Christians Criticism of (1)
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*This argument does not require belief in the existence of Free Agency (I do, but apparently discussions of free agency are outside the scope of the skeptics SE). Consider this. Even if some external force is controlling Natan Sharansky thoughts (as suggested by Christian, Daniel Dannett, and perhaps many others), the fact that he believes he is in control of his thoughts allows him considerable freedom from the attempts of the Soviets at controlling his thoughts by wielding their physical power and controlling the consequences of his choices as much asto the extent they canare able. As This is evidenced by the provided reference. I don't think that I will ever be able to prove the existence of free agency to someone that does not believe it, and is unwilling to experiment with it, but there are plenty of cases, such as this one, that demonstrate that at a minimum that a belief in free agency and exercise of such agency can protect oneself from external attempts at control.

*This argument does not require belief in the existence of Free Agency (I do, but apparently discussions of free agency are outside the scope of the skeptics SE). Consider this. Even if some external force is controlling Natan Sharansky thoughts (as suggested by Christian and , the fact that he believes he is in control of his thoughts allows him considerable freedom from the attempts of the Soviets at controlling his thoughts by wielding their physical power and controlling the consequences of his choices as much as they can. As evidenced by the provided reference. I don't think that I will ever be able to prove the existence of free agency to someone that does not believe it, and is unwilling to experiment with it, but there are plenty of cases, such as this one, that demonstrate at a minimum that a belief in free agency and exercise of such agency can protect oneself from external attempts at control.

*This argument does not require belief in the existence of Free Agency (I do, but apparently discussions of free agency are outside the scope of the skeptics SE). Consider this. Even if some external force is controlling Natan Sharansky thoughts (as suggested by Christian, Daniel Dannett, and perhaps many others), the fact that he believes he is in control of his thoughts allows him considerable freedom from the attempts of the Soviets at controlling his thoughts by wielding their physical power and controlling the consequences of his choices to the extent they are able. This is evidenced by the provided reference. I don't think that I will ever be able to prove the existence of free agency to someone that does not believe it, and is unwilling to experiment with it, but there are plenty of cases, such as this one, that demonstrate that at a minimum a belief in free agency and exercise of such agency can protect oneself from external attempts at control.

addressed Christians Criticism of (1)
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Mauser
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  1. Concept. The Title 'Who controls your mind' starts from a faulty assumption. I don't care what is under the at title, the answer will always be 'Me'. Just because a person or company creates a product, is does not mean that I am forced to consume that product. And supposing that I actually consume an entertainment/information product that they produce does it mean that they control my mind. No. The makers of this table lack a fundamental understanding of individual free agency. Freedom of thought is one of the ultimate freedoms, because it can never be taken from youyou*. Unfortunately so many give it up so freely. See account from Natan Sharansky, a Jew imprisoned by the Soviets for 'Zionist' activities below for example:

*This argument does not require belief in the existence of Free Agency (I do, but apparently discussions of free agency are outside the scope of the skeptics SE). Consider this. Even if some external force is controlling Natan Sharansky thoughts (as suggested by Christian and , the fact that he believes he is in control of his thoughts allows him considerable freedom from the attempts of the Soviets at controlling his thoughts by wielding their physical power and controlling the consequences of his choices as much as they can. As evidenced by the provided reference. I don't think that I will ever be able to prove the existence of free agency to someone that does not believe it, and is unwilling to experiment with it, but there are plenty of cases, such as this one, that demonstrate at a minimum that a belief in free agency and exercise of such agency can protect oneself from external attempts at control.

  1. Concept. The Title 'Who controls your mind' starts from a faulty assumption. I don't care what is under the at title, the answer will always be 'Me'. Just because a person or company creates a product, is does not mean that I am forced to consume that product. And supposing that I actually consume an entertainment/information product that they produce does it mean that they control my mind. No. The makers of this table lack a fundamental understanding of individual free agency. Freedom of thought is one of the ultimate freedoms, because it can never be taken from you. Unfortunately so many give it up so freely. See account from Natan Sharansky, a Jew imprisoned by the Soviets for 'Zionist' activities below for example:
  1. Concept. The Title 'Who controls your mind' starts from a faulty assumption. I don't care what is under the at title, the answer will always be 'Me'. Just because a person or company creates a product, is does not mean that I am forced to consume that product. And supposing that I actually consume an entertainment/information product that they produce does it mean that they control my mind. No. The makers of this table lack a fundamental understanding of individual free agency. Freedom of thought is one of the ultimate freedoms, because it can never be taken from you*. Unfortunately so many give it up so freely. See account from Natan Sharansky, a Jew imprisoned by the Soviets for 'Zionist' activities below for example:

*This argument does not require belief in the existence of Free Agency (I do, but apparently discussions of free agency are outside the scope of the skeptics SE). Consider this. Even if some external force is controlling Natan Sharansky thoughts (as suggested by Christian and , the fact that he believes he is in control of his thoughts allows him considerable freedom from the attempts of the Soviets at controlling his thoughts by wielding their physical power and controlling the consequences of his choices as much as they can. As evidenced by the provided reference. I don't think that I will ever be able to prove the existence of free agency to someone that does not believe it, and is unwilling to experiment with it, but there are plenty of cases, such as this one, that demonstrate at a minimum that a belief in free agency and exercise of such agency can protect oneself from external attempts at control.

adjusted reference to free will to be more accurate
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Mauser
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  1. Concept. The Title 'Who controls your mind' starts from a faulty assumption. I don't care what is under the at title, the answer will always be 'Me'. Just because a person or company creates a product, is does not mean that I am forced to consume that product. And supposing that I actually consume an entertainment/information product that they produce does it mean that they control my mind. No. The makers of this table lack a fundamental understanding of individual free agency. Freedom of thought is one of the ultimate freedoms, because it can never be taken from you. Unfortunately so many give it up so freely. See account from Natan Sharansky, a Jew imprisoned by the Soviets for 'Zionist' activities below for example:
  1. Concept. The Title 'Who controls your mind' starts from a faulty assumption. I don't care what is under the at title, the answer will always be 'Me'. Just because a person or company creates a product, is does not mean that I am forced to consume that product. And supposing that I actually consume an entertainment/information product that they produce does it mean that they control my mind. No. The makers of this table lack a fundamental understanding of free agency. Freedom of thought is one of the ultimate freedoms, because it can never be taken from you. Unfortunately so many give it up so freely. See account from Natan Sharansky, a Jew imprisoned by the Soviets for 'Zionist' activities below for example:
  1. Concept. The Title 'Who controls your mind' starts from a faulty assumption. I don't care what is under the at title, the answer will always be 'Me'. Just because a person or company creates a product, is does not mean that I am forced to consume that product. And supposing that I actually consume an entertainment/information product that they produce does it mean that they control my mind. No. The makers of this table lack a fundamental understanding of individual free agency. Freedom of thought is one of the ultimate freedoms, because it can never be taken from you. Unfortunately so many give it up so freely. See account from Natan Sharansky, a Jew imprisoned by the Soviets for 'Zionist' activities below for example:
adjusted reference to free will to be more accurate
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addressed one of Christians Comments
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spelling correction and clarification
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added number addressing question of media control
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