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I had a plan to write my thoughts about being a piano key when I discovered that Erin has already written a post very similar to the one I planned to write. I have many questions raised both by our discussions in class and the previous posts. Does free will exist? Can people be held accountable for their actions if free will doesn't exist? Does being a piano key just mean that one is affected by outside influences or that one has no choice about the direction of their life? I have thoughts on these issues, but my opinions are not fully formed.

The answers to these questions don't affect my perception of the worth of my life. Even if my eperiences, personality, luck, family, ect. push my life in a certain direction, I don't believe that will prevent me from accomplishing my goals in life. In fact, these forces are very much a part of my identity. It seems to me that a large part of the forces pusing the piano key are parts of myself. This is why I feel that the piano key/free will issue doesn't affect accountability.  Many crimes (although many crimes don't fit this description) are commited "by accident" or on an impulse. These may not have been completely under the control of the criminal, however, they are (and should be) still held accountable for their actions.

I just don't feel threatened by the idea that I might not have free will or that I am a "piano key" and I'm trying to figure out why. I think it is at least partly that I am confident that not only my conscious mind, but also my personality and experiences will work together to get me where I want to go. Maybe I have too much faith, and I don't mean to say that I don't think bad things will happen to me. I'm just not convinced that the forces pushing the piano key and the piano key itself are as separate as they might seem at first. In some ways I think that rather than being pushed, the nature of the piano key is being changed and therefore greatly affected. Does that make any sense? I'm not sure if I am making any sense, this all seems very clear in my thoughts, but I'm not sure what others will make of it or if I am expressing myself clearly. The more I write the more complex the issues seem to become.