Freedom Of Choice Vs Determinism Essay
Essay on Freedom of Choice and Determinism Based on Slaughterhouse Five The issue of whether free will exists has been widely debated throughout history. The main philosophies on this are determinism (which imposes that free will is false and predeterminism is correct), compatibilism (determinism and free will aren 't mutually exclusive; they 're both correct) and libertarianism (determinism is false, free will is true). However, determinism is non-debatable at this point. With the advances we 've made and are making in fields such as psychology (particularly behaviourism), psychoanalysis, sociology, philosophy, theology, anthropology, physics and biology, we find more and more proof for it every day. In this essay, the ideas brought forward
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in Kurt Vonnegut 's Slaughterhouse Five will be scrutinized. The nature of time in relation to the possibility of determinism will be explored. Also to be presented is the argument of causality supported by Pierre-Simon Laplace 's Philosophical Essay on Probabilities. The final aspect of the puzzle of free will to be studied is what makes a person into who/what they are. Imagine if we were to rewind the universe back to it 's singularity and let it play out. If we were to look at the “right here, right now” of that universe, it would seem exactly the same to us. In fact, the only factor that would allow for any variation is true randomness (quantum randomness), and that variation would be on a strictly microscopic level.1 These random motions of molecules cannot set off a chain of events to influence macroscopic change. In fact, these random movements have a habit of counteracting the effects of one another.2 Everything macro, however, is governed by much more strict, observable and understandable laws. If we restarted today, it would happen exactly as it is happening, the only way it can happen. In 1814, the french astronomer and mathematician Marquis Pierre-Simon Laplace published an essay in which he wrote “we may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future.”(Philosophical Essay on Probabilities, page 2).4 Laplace later went on to write that if there existed a creature that knew “all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed” and was capable of analysing this information, “...nothing would be uncertain [for it], and the future, like the past, would be open to its eyes.”(Philosophical essay on probabilities, page 2).4 In fact, one could argue that the very existence of the word “why” (“for what cause, reason, or purpose; wherefore... 2. For which; on account of which...”3) further bolsters Laplace 's causal/scientific determinism. It implies that the present is the result of the past, like dominoes knocking down one another or like a ball rolling down a hill. If we asked the ball why it is rolling down the hill, it would recount earlier events. Therefore, all our actions (and everything that will ever happen, has happened and is happening) are determined by the past. All we are capable of is responding in a predetermined way to already existing things and events. Although the Tralfamadorians believe that the whys and wherefores do not matter, they matter to those of us who ask if free will is possible and whether determinism is correct (if the Tralfamadorians in Slaughterhouse Five are to be believed, it is a question unique to our species). The nature of time could also offer insight into whether free choice exists.
In the 1600s, Isaac Newton pictured all time as moving at a fixed pace, identical for everything and everyone everywhere.5 Come the early 1900s, Einstein gave us an new theory: that time is relative; factors such as speed and mass can alter the rate at which time passes for separate objects.6 He “unified space and time into a single 4-D entity.”7 Now, we are being challenged to view time as happening simultaneously, always (as Vonnegut 's Tralfamadorians do). In fact, Julian Barbour, a renowned English physicist, is questioning time as a measurement of change. He believes in the “block universe” (eternalism), that space-time is an unchangeable four-dimensional block.8 This is the version of time that the Tralfamadorians experience. This model allows for absolutely no free will as everything is happening, has happened and will always happen the way it has to occur; “so it goes”, as the one-eyed little green men say. We have no proof that moments exist one at a time other than the fact that we perceive them that way, which is no proof at all. The way the Tralfamadorians see it, “all moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist. [...] [They] can look at all the different moments just that way we can look at a stretch of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. They can see how permanent all the moments are [...]” (Chapter 2, section 7, paragraph 3). According to the …show more content…
Tralfamadorians, the illusion of time being a gradual process is exclusive to Earth. To establish whether we are in control of our choices, we have to know what constitutes “us”. Consider the strictly physical aspect of our being. Physical determinism imposes that what makes us all “unique” is an incomprehensibly complex network of neurons. It 's generally accepted that all laws of physics apply to chemistry and therefore to biological chemistry. If that 's the case, then the particles and cells in the brain behave in a predictable manner and our choices are not our own, but determined entirely by the laws of physics and metaphysics. Think of how little control a paranoid schizophrenic has over his thoughts and his actions. If a healthy mind exercises as much power over one 's decisions as an ill mind, then free will may well be non-existent. Looking at a human being in such simple terms makes us akin to machinery, programmed by generations upon generations of personal experiences, passed down in the form of instinct, intuition and our own special cocktail of genes. Another factor that must surely affect our will is our conditioning environment. What this entails is essentially everything that will occur in our lives between our birth and death which will help to form our long term morals, ideals and beliefs. Our choices are therefore made by what/who we are (our past, our genes, and so on) and we are powerless to decide that, the only thing that really matters. 95% of our thoughts and decisions are made subconsciously, leaving only a small margin for conscious veto.9 Even if we assume that the conscious mind allows us to make decisions without the deterministic influence of external (and internal) factors (which is near impossible), we are still little more than an emotionally invested audience in our own lives. Arthur Schopenhauer famously said, "man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills"10. Thus, the majority of fields concerned with human affairs provide strong arguments which bolster determinism. The arguments presented in this essay were the nature of time in relation to the possibility of determinism, the argument of causality and what it is which makes a person into who/what they are. It is likely that free choice does not exist in a deterministic universe. However, one has to ask questions like, what difference does it make if we truly have freedom as long as we 're under the impression that we do? This question raises a plethora of aspects on the issue to consider. For example, if we no longer have the illusion of free will, how can we retain our dignity? How can we be held morally responsible for our actions?
WORKS CITED
1.
"Do Physicists Really Believe in Quantum Randomness?” Askamathematician.com. (December 15, 2009). Consulted the 22nd of December, 2013. Web.
2. Q is for Quantum: an encyclopedia of particle physics, John Gribbin. Free press, London, 1998. 680 pages.
3. G. & C. Merriam Co., Webster 's New Collegiate Dictionary. Ninth edition. Springfield, Mass. Copyright 1956.
4. Philosophical Essay on Probabilities, Pierre Simon Laplace. Springer, New York, 1995. 271 pages.
5. Weisstein, Eric W. “Cubic Curve.” mathworld.wolfram.com. Consulted the 2nd of January, 2013. Web.
6. “Time According to Einstein 's Theory of Relativity.” thinkquest.org. Consulted the 2nd of January, 2013. Web.
7. Frank, Adam. “There is no such thing as Time.” Popsci.com. Consulted the 3rd of January, 2013. Web.
8. Gołosz, Jerzy. “Presentism, eternalism and the triviality problem.” wydawnictwoumk.pl. (2013) Consulted the 5th of January, 2013. Web.
9. Bhattacharya, Priyanka. “95 percent of our thoughts and decisions occur within the subconscious.” digitalmarket.asia. (August 27, 2012). Consulted the 5th of January, 2013. Web.
10. Essay on the freedom of the will, Arthur Schopenhauer. Dover publications, 2005. 103
pages.
in Kurt Vonnegut 's Slaughterhouse Five will be scrutinized. The nature of time in relation to the possibility of determinism will be explored. Also to be presented is the argument of causality supported by Pierre-Simon Laplace 's Philosophical Essay on Probabilities. The final aspect of the puzzle of free will to be studied is what makes a person into who/what they are. Imagine if we were to rewind the universe back to it 's singularity and let it play out. If we were to look at the “right here, right now” of that universe, it would seem exactly the same to us. In fact, the only factor that would allow for any variation is true randomness (quantum randomness), and that variation would be on a strictly microscopic level.1 These random motions of molecules cannot set off a chain of events to influence macroscopic change. In fact, these random movements have a habit of counteracting the effects of one another.2 Everything macro, however, is governed by much more strict, observable and understandable laws. If we restarted today, it would happen exactly as it is happening, the only way it can happen. In 1814, the french astronomer and mathematician Marquis Pierre-Simon Laplace published an essay in which he wrote “we may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future.”(Philosophical Essay on Probabilities, page 2).4 Laplace later went on to write that if there existed a creature that knew “all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed” and was capable of analysing this information, “...nothing would be uncertain [for it], and the future, like the past, would be open to its eyes.”(Philosophical essay on probabilities, page 2).4 In fact, one could argue that the very existence of the word “why” (“for what cause, reason, or purpose; wherefore... 2. For which; on account of which...”3) further bolsters Laplace 's causal/scientific determinism. It implies that the present is the result of the past, like dominoes knocking down one another or like a ball rolling down a hill. If we asked the ball why it is rolling down the hill, it would recount earlier events. Therefore, all our actions (and everything that will ever happen, has happened and is happening) are determined by the past. All we are capable of is responding in a predetermined way to already existing things and events. Although the Tralfamadorians believe that the whys and wherefores do not matter, they matter to those of us who ask if free will is possible and whether determinism is correct (if the Tralfamadorians in Slaughterhouse Five are to be believed, it is a question unique to our species). The nature of time could also offer insight into whether free choice exists.
In the 1600s, Isaac Newton pictured all time as moving at a fixed pace, identical for everything and everyone everywhere.5 Come the early 1900s, Einstein gave us an new theory: that time is relative; factors such as speed and mass can alter the rate at which time passes for separate objects.6 He “unified space and time into a single 4-D entity.”7 Now, we are being challenged to view time as happening simultaneously, always (as Vonnegut 's Tralfamadorians do). In fact, Julian Barbour, a renowned English physicist, is questioning time as a measurement of change. He believes in the “block universe” (eternalism), that space-time is an unchangeable four-dimensional block.8 This is the version of time that the Tralfamadorians experience. This model allows for absolutely no free will as everything is happening, has happened and will always happen the way it has to occur; “so it goes”, as the one-eyed little green men say. We have no proof that moments exist one at a time other than the fact that we perceive them that way, which is no proof at all. The way the Tralfamadorians see it, “all moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist. [...] [They] can look at all the different moments just that way we can look at a stretch of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. They can see how permanent all the moments are [...]” (Chapter 2, section 7, paragraph 3). According to the …show more content…
Tralfamadorians, the illusion of time being a gradual process is exclusive to Earth. To establish whether we are in control of our choices, we have to know what constitutes “us”. Consider the strictly physical aspect of our being. Physical determinism imposes that what makes us all “unique” is an incomprehensibly complex network of neurons. It 's generally accepted that all laws of physics apply to chemistry and therefore to biological chemistry. If that 's the case, then the particles and cells in the brain behave in a predictable manner and our choices are not our own, but determined entirely by the laws of physics and metaphysics. Think of how little control a paranoid schizophrenic has over his thoughts and his actions. If a healthy mind exercises as much power over one 's decisions as an ill mind, then free will may well be non-existent. Looking at a human being in such simple terms makes us akin to machinery, programmed by generations upon generations of personal experiences, passed down in the form of instinct, intuition and our own special cocktail of genes. Another factor that must surely affect our will is our conditioning environment. What this entails is essentially everything that will occur in our lives between our birth and death which will help to form our long term morals, ideals and beliefs. Our choices are therefore made by what/who we are (our past, our genes, and so on) and we are powerless to decide that, the only thing that really matters. 95% of our thoughts and decisions are made subconsciously, leaving only a small margin for conscious veto.9 Even if we assume that the conscious mind allows us to make decisions without the deterministic influence of external (and internal) factors (which is near impossible), we are still little more than an emotionally invested audience in our own lives. Arthur Schopenhauer famously said, "man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills"10. Thus, the majority of fields concerned with human affairs provide strong arguments which bolster determinism. The arguments presented in this essay were the nature of time in relation to the possibility of determinism, the argument of causality and what it is which makes a person into who/what they are. It is likely that free choice does not exist in a deterministic universe. However, one has to ask questions like, what difference does it make if we truly have freedom as long as we 're under the impression that we do? This question raises a plethora of aspects on the issue to consider. For example, if we no longer have the illusion of free will, how can we retain our dignity? How can we be held morally responsible for our actions?
WORKS CITED
1.
"Do Physicists Really Believe in Quantum Randomness?” Askamathematician.com. (December 15, 2009). Consulted the 22nd of December, 2013. Web.
2. Q is for Quantum: an encyclopedia of particle physics, John Gribbin. Free press, London, 1998. 680 pages.
3. G. & C. Merriam Co., Webster 's New Collegiate Dictionary. Ninth edition. Springfield, Mass. Copyright 1956.
4. Philosophical Essay on Probabilities, Pierre Simon Laplace. Springer, New York, 1995. 271 pages.
5. Weisstein, Eric W. “Cubic Curve.” mathworld.wolfram.com. Consulted the 2nd of January, 2013. Web.
6. “Time According to Einstein 's Theory of Relativity.” thinkquest.org. Consulted the 2nd of January, 2013. Web.
7. Frank, Adam. “There is no such thing as Time.” Popsci.com. Consulted the 3rd of January, 2013. Web.
8. Gołosz, Jerzy. “Presentism, eternalism and the triviality problem.” wydawnictwoumk.pl. (2013) Consulted the 5th of January, 2013. Web.
9. Bhattacharya, Priyanka. “95 percent of our thoughts and decisions occur within the subconscious.” digitalmarket.asia. (August 27, 2012). Consulted the 5th of January, 2013. Web.
10. Essay on the freedom of the will, Arthur Schopenhauer. Dover publications, 2005. 103
pages.