Master of Puppets.

A Blog Inspired by the Ever Insightful Jordan Maunder...

I had an interesting debate with my roommate today. About a month ago, in my Philosophy 1502 class, we had to write a paper on whether or not an infallible knowledge of the future discounts the notion of free will. For as long as I can remember, I have rejected all concepts of predestination and fiercely embraced a belief in the free will of mankind. As far as I was concerned, I made my own decisions within the confines of my life. If there was a divine god that carefully observed my actions and knew of the decisions I would make, so be it. I was still the one that made them. However, today I was forced to reexamine such beliefs.

It seems as if everyone has questioned at one point or another the direct control each individual has over his/her own existence. If there is an omniscient god within this world, does his all-knowingness eliminate the possibility for people to deviate from his plan for their future? This infallible knowledge of things to come poses a considerable problem regarding an individual’s free will.

The central principle behind theological fatalism, fate, states that since God knows exactly what someone’s next course of action will be, that person can only go through with that action and no others. However, it is more than just an omniscient being already aware of people’s future actions. It is not just what people will do, but it is what they were always going to do in the first place. Such flawless assurance eliminates the very existence of any other possibilities. If someone is going to take a certain course of action, in what sense are the others even possibilities? This would seemingly mean that the course of people’s lives is essentially already set in stone. To say there was any chance of change would be to contradict the very meaning of omniscience itself. That single course of action was always going to be chosen and therefore, other options are void. They simply do not exist. In this sense, free will seems to be more of a hollow ideal than a reality. Wishful thinking if you will.

I suppose the idea of theological fatalism could be taken in a less despairing light. Just because omniscience discounts the notion of free will, does not mean that personal happiness is sacrificed as well. As foreboding as it sounds to live in a world without control over one’s own life, the choices already made for people are the choices they were to make anyway. Think of it as the actions someone would take in their life regardless, only that someone else predetermined these desired actions beforehand.

Foreknowledge and Free Will. There is inevitable conflict between the two existing together. If it is indeed the case that this world is run by an omniscient divine force, people in this world may not be blessed with the free will they might have thought they possessed.

Am I saying that I no longer believe in the free will of mankind? No, I do hope there is some room for gray area regarding such a significant debate. I am merely saying that there's room to doubt everything.

Just some food for thought...