Message 21/34
Date: 11-Mar-03 @ 12:51 AM -
RE: free will
The problem as I see it at this point in my life is this: people have a hard time holding two things which seem incongruous in their head, two opposites, even though those two things are required to describe the whole. It always has to be one or the other with us. We talk about grey areas in matter of love, war, life, death, all matters social, but when it comes to a matter as important as free will, we say it has to be one way or the other.
I won't even dealve into the quantum mechanical analogies, because the dualities that exist there fill many volumes. If you want empirical proof of the prevalance of dualities in the universe (perhaps its defining characteristic), the history of quantum mechanics is a good start.
Therefore, I think it is possible for us to have, for all intents and purposes, free will in the material world. This is an illusion, but one that works, much like all of the subatomic world.
I think you will perceive free will until the day you die. At that point, things won't seem so linear and causal. People refer to their "life flashing before their eyes"... time loses meaning. At this point you can see your place in the universe from god's point of view... the eternal view. Until the point of your death, I think you have to live in the reality that in this material world, you are perceived responsible for your actions. You're not, but that only matters in the eternal.
This view does not remove personal responsibility. There are still prices to pay for every action. But as a society leans towards such a viewpoint, however, I think the recognition that all action stems from the eternal will guide personal decisions down the right path. More and more trancendental people with the ability to hold dualities viscerally are what is needed to guide societies to the world of the philosopher rulers.
If murder were made legal tomorrow, would you go kill anyone? Why not? Because you are being guided by more than just "free will."
psy