[ars]

You are simultaneously claiming you can prove an animal made a choice, but I didn't? That's a contradiction.

In any case, a mirror test is a test of recognizing self, it does not indicate anything in terms of self awareness.

And I chose to fast for 5 days because I wanted to. Nothing forced me, it was a free choice. I simply thought about it and decided to do it, there were no pro's or con's pushing me in either direction.

[scott_w]

> Some animals show choices

They said animals show choices, they did not claim to prove animals made a choice. The point is that you also cannot prove you made a choice, only that you do things that show you may have made a choice. It's a fine, but important, distinction.

[ars]

Did I, or did I not, have the option to fast, or not to fast?

Did I then pick one? How is that not proof of a choice? Who or what else made that choice if not me?

If you poke me with a needle, I move, that is not a choice because it's a forced choice, that's essentially what animals do, all their choices are forced.

That's also what free will is, free will is not a choice between a good and bad options - that's not a choice. Free will is picking between two options that are equal, and yet different (i.e. not something where before options are more or less the same, like go left or right more or less randomly).

Free will is only rarely exercised in life, most choices are forced or random.

> They said animals show choices

Given what I wrote, do they actually show choices? Or do they just pick between good/bad or two equal options?

[backscratches]

Whether you had the option to fast or not and made a choice to fast is up for debate. The leading hypothesis point to no: you did not have an option and you did not make a choice.

Some time ago you heard about fasting (you did not invent fasting) and the situation in your life became such that fasting was what you naturally were compelled to do (stress, digestion, you know better than I that you did not simply decide to fast free of any influence). Your "free will" is probably a fairy tale you tell yourself to feel better about your automaton existence.

[scott_w]

> Did I, or did I not, have the option to fast, or not to fast?

It looks like you had an option but it’s not possible to truly know whether you had an option. I’m not in your head so I can’t know. If, under the same circumstances and same state of mind, you perform the same action 100% of the time, did you really make a choice? Or did you just follow your programming?