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what is ~ Freewill?
There are many who believe that God is life. They believe that God alone has ultimate knowledge and power over all things, that not a single event nor act is free from the will of God, and thus, that God has ultimate power and reign in determining the fate of every thing, and everyone, and every soul. They believe that the fate of an individual is already determined, and thus, that his fate has been preordained or predetermined.
Others believe that we, ourselves, are responsible for our thoughts and actions. That we have a level of control of our intentions and the directions we take in life. That Karma is the seeds we sow, that govern our fate or path in life.
The more contemporary ideas within our religions and philosophies can be placed between these two extremes. For most of us, it is unacceptable to contemplate that freewill on some level or form is non existent. We spend most of our lives trying to control, (key word), the events or circumstance within our daily lives. Humanity and society subscribe to this understanding and use of control, and the need to take charge of events. Our modern societies and ethics are founded upon the acceptance of this notion of freewill, and the requirements for personal responsibility. Law and order, justice and punishment are grounded in the affirmation that individuals have control and responsibility for their actions.
There is strong evidence to support this notion of freewill. Humans appear to have successfully affected and changed their surroundings, and indeed, changed the entire planet to fit their needs. We, as humans, have shaped our home, our planet, to fit our purpose, so much so, that we cannot now survive without the need for artificial food and shelter, and clothing, as well as other social and biological needs. We have directly and indirectly affected the evolution of ourselves, and the evolution of our planet, and have even affected the evolution of other lifeforms and animals that live beside us. We have been responsible for, and have been the cause of, global changes, that have affected the physical nature of our planet, and we have been responsible for the demise and extinction of countless animals and species, and plant life on our planet.
This is a fact, so..... Freewill must be a reality, it must be real for us?
The debate concerning the reality of freewill, dates back through religions and philosophies for thousands of years. It has been a topic of ancient discussion and reasoning, that has been the cause of much disagreement. With counter claims of it’s reality, even within the same religions and cultures. From the ancient beliefs and scriptures of Hinduism and Judaism, to the Egyptians, and the beliefs held by the ancient Greeks, the discussion of freewill has played an important part in the understanding of mankind’s role here on Earth; of his motives, his evolution, and moreover, his relationship to God.
The philosophers who subscribe to determinism would propose, that even if God does not have such powers of control over fate and destiny, none the less, the Universe is governed by cause and effect, and the interaction between energy and matter; which affects every thing, both living and inert, that exists. They would propose that freewill is a myth, and that the notion of this idea, is but a simple misunderstanding of the power of cause and effect. In other words, they would argue that; not one single thought, nor action, nor movement or motion is free from the affect of an initial cause. That a cause, is in fact, the ultimate reason for all and any thing to happen at all; that it is a perpetual chain reaction, whereupon every thought we have or action we take is governed by the cause, or the initial reason that brings it to mind?
This is a very logical stance. The more one may try to analyse any reaction or thought that comes to mind, the more we must surely agree to find that there is some reason or motive for such an event in the first place. We think before we act, and what gives rise to thoughts, to specific actions or reactions? We must submit that any thought we appear to have, has some underlying motive, whether we wish it or not.
Our social structure, culture, religious, philosophical and ethical thoughts and ideas have established our evolution and societies, and programmed our judgments. Founded and built upon centuries of cultural change, the convergence and divergence of these ideas and beliefs have moulded and created us, as human minds, to conform to specific responses and reactions within our social structures. We act, often blindly, in response to our own education and knowledge and up-bringing. That is, we respond and act, more often, in the only way we know how?
Even the subconscious act of breathing, has within a strange automation, governed by cause and effect, that operates on a biological and ultimately physical level, that is once again, governed itself, by the interaction between energy and matter; and all this appears to be beyond our control?
The more we delve deeper and deeper, to search for some thing, some special thought or idea, that we can definitely pinpoint as without prior cause, the more we are at a loss in finding anything. Even the most original or spontaneous thought or idea, has as it’s root, a motive or initial cause. But don’t take my word for this, try it for yourself? Try to find some thought or phenomena that does not comply with this logical proposition.
So we can see from this, that the Determinists have a very strong case in believing that freewill is a myth.
Once again, this hypothesis is not widely embraced, because of this basic human need and belief in the freedom to act, and to control actions and outcomes. This elemental need we have, deters us from this notion that we cannot control our destiny. We shun the idea that we do not have at least some control in our lives.
Our whole basis of ethics and law and order is based on the precondition that we have control over our actions. We judge each other on our actions, and the courts of law charge the law breakers with the responsibility of their actions. Yet, as we all know, there are many that do not fit this simple process of responsibility. Advances in psychology, and experience with cases of victims of stress or mental disorders, mania and even alcohol or drugs, have shown that an individual may not have been responsible for their actions, or at very least, were temporarily indisposed, and therefore cannot be judged as being wholly responsible.
A fine line can be drawn between the hero in warfare that loses control and single handed, kills the enemy, and the soldier under stress that loses control, and shoots his own troops. Thus is the fine line between justification for acts of killing, and for the affects of stress. Yet in each case the freewill to act may have been almost indistinguishable.
The determinists propose that all events are effects subject to their cause, and further, that all outcomes in the natural world, or real world, are the results of the best possible outcome. This is evident in our understanding and contemporary knowledge of physical science, where outcomes of events and experimentation yield results that show this special connection between cause and effects. The results of experimentation of motion and energies, produce results that may be interpreted as the best possible outcome of a cause, or action.
This appears to be true, even to the point, that the outcome of the experiment may be predicted, or calculated, subject to our scientific knowledge and predictions. Although, there are also times when outcomes and results do not always meet these predictions, or calculations, one may still propose, that this is merely the result of the lack of knowledge and ignorance of our behalf, rather than the interference of any supernatural action or reason. Even when outcomes do meet our expectations, this is not because of our determination to produce these results, as nature has determined this as the best possible outcome.
The logical nature of the deterministic point of view, has lead the proponents to the persuasion that unrest of the mind, or unhappiness, is due solely to the misunderstanding that we may control, or change outcomes and circumstance to fit our needs. Thus, when it is shown we cannot actually control events or outcomes, we become disillusioned. When the outcomes of our actions do not bear the fruit of our expectations, we become unhappy, and our mind or mood is troubled.
This leads to the logical conclusion that, if we thus accept this proof of nature, and thus accept that events and circumstances happen regardless, and are beyond our control, we may take refuge and comfort in the knowledge that all that happens, happens for a reason.
The positive aspects of this belief lead to the acceptance of the truth of nature. This in turn, has lead to the belief of the connection between nature and God. That every thing that happens, every result of cause and effect, is by the nature of God. That faith and trust in nature and natural cause and outcomes, is faith in God’s will, that ultimately has purpose to an end, or end result. This trust in underlying cause and motive provides solace in times of stress and melancholy, and provides some faith in the belief in God’s purpose for creation.
Proponents of this philosophy are many, including Aristotle, who’s love of nature lead to this belief that nature has purpose, and is naturally guided to the best of possible outcomes. His Teleology purports that the entire Universe and cosmos is subject to cause and effect, and the motion that guides to God’s purpose. These early revelations lead to the Stoic belief and philosophy of fatalism, (everything that happens must happen). Later advocates included this determinism into Christianity, and pantheism, (the belief that God is in all things, and by his essence, all things are essentially of God).
These ideas of determinism can be said to date back much farther than even this, to Hinduism, Judaism, and thus even to ancient Egypt. In fact, every philosophy or religion that has debated over the notion of freewill, has arrived at this conclusion concerning cause and effect, purpose and determinism.
The more positive aspects of these beliefs, guide us to the faith in the will of God, or a purpose of nature that has direction. This trust has lead to the belief that God’s will, or the motive of nature itself, is inherently good, (or at very least, serves the motive not to delude, nor deceive). Yet this belief in determinism and fatalism has also lead to a total submission to fate and destiny, which has lead many to discredit any notion of control or personal responsibility for actions. This, the more negative aspects of determinism, is responsible for a form of escapism, whereby an individual may conclude, that whatever action they may take, has absolutely no affect whatsoever on the outcome of nature or the guidance of the Universe or creation. This divergence from personal responsibility has lead to rejection of ethical codes and practice.
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