Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

  Post 122.  December 20, 2021

  Unscripted Free Will

  And Other Popular Delusions

 The author begins his introduction by asserting that “the overarching problem is free will”. His concern is not so much with the meaning of “will”, but with “what it means to be free”. Before presenting his own solution to the problem though, he gives us a lot of religious and philosophical background. For the moral purposes of Religion, freedom to choose between Good & Evil is essential, as a badge of responsibility for our actions. But Philosophy has gone back & forth on the question, and Science has typically attempted to avoid dealing with such an un-scientific non-empirical notion. However, when the topic of Free Will comes up in any context, the arguments typically divide between the religious definition of a moral necessity, Supernatural Determinism1 (Divine Law) , and the scientific concept of an unbroken sequence of inputs & outputs, Natural Determinism2 (Law of Causation). But the author, a former Christian, and retired physician, does not feel bound by either kind of bondage. Instead, his focus is on the man in the middle : the Moral Agent and the Natural Actor.

Carter (pen name) hints at the question and answer right up front. He asks, “does everything that happens have a cause?” The scientific answer is “yes”, nothing in the real world happens without a physical cause, which is usually an exchange of Energy. So an unbroken chain of causation must extend from Now back to the First Cause, which used to be called “Divine Creation”, but is now known in secular terms as the “Big Bang”. If we disallow arbitrary divine purpose, the brain teaser arises : “why is there something rather than nothing?” The usual stand-in for a purposeful Creator is some form of aimless Energy or an omni-directional natural Principle or Force.

But if we take intentional Creation for granted, in view of our imperfect world with pain & suffering, we must wonder, “did God intend for bad things to happen to good people?” Is God the Cause of all that’s wrong with reality? One evasion, to avoid linking the loving Father with the despicable behavior of some offspring, is to assume an Evil Uncle to take the blame for all the bad stuff. But then, that would contradict the essential tenet of Monotheism : one God for all purposes. Even poly-theists wrestled with the “Problem of Evil”. So they introduced the notion of abstract Fate3, which rules even the personal deities. Consequently, humans have not been able to avoid the logical deduction, that Determinism is inevitable.

However, the Greeks and Romans typically took a philo-sophical angle on Destiny : “amor fati” (love of fate). If you can’t avoid it, learn to love it. Bowing to Providence, Carter seems to have arrived at Fatalism, but still looks on the bright side of Determinism. In the introduction he says, “this book is intended to convince you that the absence of free will is, on balance and in fact, a good thing”. If you have no other choice, you have to learn to take the good with the bad. That’s the same maxim that most monotheists live by : “god willing” or “insha’allah”. In other words, trust in the divine Will instead of your own mortal will, to get you what you want. If your desires are frustrated, or things don’t  go your way, just bow your head and whisper “thy will be done”. That way, you can hope for the best, while admitting “I can control my destiny, but not my fate”. The only card to play is submission4 to Determinism.

               Blog Post 122 continued . . .

1. Supernatural     Determinism :
Creationism assumes a single eternal Cause of every-thing and every action in the ever-changing world. Fatalism is also super-natural in the sense that it rules over everything and everyone in the natural world. The philosophical “First Cause” or “Prime Mover” is presumably an external a priori Force or Principle, similar to the modern notion of Energy. Big Bang theory typically ignores any outside Forces, and refers only to exchanges of energy within the natural evolving system. But it also presumes that Energy/Force was already in existence before the Bang. So all forms of Determinism presuppose some eternal or timeless power to cause Change.

2. Natural Determinism :
According to Physics, the causal force in Nature is somehow related to Light, which is the fundamental form of Energy. So, the sequence of causes is limited to a so-called Light-Cone, that spreads out from a pinpoint source.

3. Fate & Fatalism :
Ancient thinkers were puzzled by the seemingly erratic & arbitrary actions of their nature-gods. So, they postulated a group of god-like beings whose whims ruled even the humanoid deities that governed the various forces of Nature. Both men and gods had to submit to those forces of Destiny.

“While determinism regards humans as "one with" the unfolding matrix of the natural universe, supernaturalism and fatalism regard humans as existing outside of this system.”
https://www.naturalism.org/philosophy/free-will/fatalism/determinism-vs-fatalism

4. Submission :
All monotheistic religions demand a submissive attitude toward divine decisions (God’s Will) that go against their personal will or needs or wishes : subjectively bad or evil. The assumption is that “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord”. Presumably, the Lord has long-range plans that may not always go to suit you personally, but will work out for the best in the end.  

The Single Simple Question
That challenges All Convictions

Peter Carter MD

Primary Care Physician

“Connecting the conundrums of God and Immortality, Free Will, the Strange Reality of Quantum Physics, and Finding Purpose in Existence”.

Freedom to Act, or to Obey.

ENFORMATIONISM

Free Will Is Real
Scientific American Blog
by John Horgan
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/free-will-is-real/