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txrx0000today at 4:59 AM0 repliesview on HN

That's a somewhat accurate description, and you could even replace "society" with "universe". But what I'm defending is precisely the apparent feeling of autonomy, which is just called "autonomy" in colloquial terms omitting the philosophical baggage. I don't think it's fair to call this illusory, because you have no basis to define what an illusion is if you accept that all you know and all that you are is the product of universal influence. Included in that universal influence is every instance of experience from which your understanding of the concept of "illusion" was derived, so "illusion"/"real" would refer to the same thing in your worldview.

Now, taking a pragmatic materialist stance: we are obviously bound by physics and cannot move in certain ways. We can predict what action a person will take from their brain activity before the person becomes aware of their decision themselves. But what the brain does to convince you that oneself is in control is probably the exact thing that's required for life to thrive. It was the evolutionary path taken, and it's also the future I strive for, and I hope others would do the same.