Reviews for Free Will: Myth, or Reality?

Reviews For: Free Will: Myth, or Reality?

Dan Kingsley 2006-08-08 ch 1,	abuseFree will, eternity, faith and reason are issues that have been debated long before we came into existence and will be long after we have left this life. I am not going to claim that I have a definitive answers, these are usually things that we come to know for ourselves though questioning, doubt, or dare I say, faith. Human beings I believe are invested with free will, because we are not motivated by instinct like the animals. I think this is further evidence by our development of the sciences and the arts. In addition, from my own experience and thoughts about faith, I think God does exist. I believe a benevolent God despite His omnipotence would have to give a sentient creation the right to choice, as to force Himself on His Creation would be in it of itself evil. Then again, we truly won't know until the end.
KeytoExistence 2006-07-31 ch 1,	abuseI'm in agreement with Arael the 15th here. The way I've always thought about it, God is not bound by time like we are, since he is eternal and has no beginning or end. There is no "future" or "past" for God: he sees every event on the timeline. But just because, to us, it's meant to happen doesn't mean we didn't make any choices. I've always wondered why when people talk about free will, Fate and destiny is always the discussion. Why about Biological Determination, which has been also debated for years: the belief that we are hardwired to do what we do.
Vivix 2006-07-30 ch 1,	abuseActually, fate is a much different thing than you, and most people, think it is. The concept of fate, at least in the popular Oedipus concept, is that the gods understand you so well, know your tics, desires, and behavior, that they can accurately predict your future actions. They cannot see the future, but they know you. That's why there's a seperate being, Cassandra, whose power is the ability to see into the future. If all gods were able to do so, she would not even have been created. So the idea of fate is close to maternal advice. Mom tells you, "If you don't wear a coat, you'll catch a cold!" which can be a sort of prediction based on past experience. And that's all fate really is. It's not a grand scheme where your choices are already decided, just that there are those who have seen enough of humanity to know the decisions you will make.
No Trust 2006-07-30 ch 1,	abuseThe existence or non-existence of a divine being wouldn't have much effect of whether we could be said to have free will or not. Man has a free will in that he is always free to do as he wills. He does not decide what to will, however.
Arael the 15th 2006-07-30 ch 1,	abuseFirst off, let me ask you this: how do YOU know that destiny can only be a straight line? You are refering to the idea that Fate is a single pathway that cannot change; a concept that the Grecco-Roman pagan faith was notorious for. That is, you cannot change your destiny. There is in fact another way how fate works: the Norse concept. As an Asatruar, I believe that your fate is not so much pre-destined as it is given a basic guiding force. Instead of a line, it's a web, where twists and turns you make have an effect on reality and you. So, THIS would be the third scenario: that an all-knowing force knows what you'll do, but, that force is not the controller of your mind. You decide what you want to do, even if you just accept things and go with the flow, because that is still a conscious decision. Also, how are you even sure that you exist? Or that I exist? Or any part of your reality exists? The answer is that none of us do. All we know is that we feel things emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and that it is of our own free-will that we decide how to deal with them. This is the basis for the philosophy known as Exhistensialism. Everything I say, do, and feel is a result of my own choosing, whether I am aware of it or not. Also, just because God knows all and sees all, it doesn't mean you are destined for hell from the moment you are born. Even the Puritans knew this wasn't true. God would not force you to go to an afterlife against your will, but instead, like you mentioned, it is about choice. You CHOSE to act sinful, and you CHOSE not to repent for it, ergo, you will go to Hell. That is a concept few understand: just because God is supposed to be omnipotent and omniscient, it doesn't mean he controls you and your emotions.
plok 2006-07-30 ch 1,	abuseIt doesn't really matter to me. Even if everything I do is because of fate then whatever is controlling me is doing a good job of hiding itself. So good in fact that in every situation I feel like I'm confronted with a choice. So like I said, it's irrelevant to me.

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