So this is a topic I’ve been planning to start writing on for a while and tonight seems like as good a time as any to make my first post.
Determinism refers to the claim that future events result directly from those which have occurred previously. In other words, it is the concept that all effects are caused by something, namely, those material events which have happened before. This is something which we all implicitly believe, probably from early childhood. For example, within the first year of life, children begin to understand the concept of object permanence, the idea that even if an object such as a teddy bear or bouncy ball is not in view, it still exists. As adults, deterministic beliefs can be found in just about every corner of our lives, whether it is the belief that if we mess around at work we will be fired or that the belief that if we run out into the street we are likely to be hit by a car.
However, when we talk about determinism in the philosophical sense, the discussion usually centres on the question of whether all events in the universe are entirely deterministic, or what is called “hard” determinism. For example, a hard determinist would claim that you do not “choose” to go to the theatre—it is simply the chemical events occurring in your brain at this moment which make the decision. Importantly, deterministic concepts are essentially fundamental principles of scientific investigation. Even in biology, where results are so variable that they can often only be elucidated by comparing averages over many repeated experiments, it is still implicitly assumed that all measurement error can be accounted for by deterministic processes which have simply not been controlled in the experimental design. How then can the belief in free will be compatible with determinism?
There are some rather interesting moral implications which can be drawn from an understanding of the universe as a deterministic place. For example, brain scientists believe that every aspect of your personality, your beliefs and your memories are entirely encoded in the molecules and higher order structures which make up your brain. It might be tempting then to assume that this claim argues that we are all just slaves to our material existence, a claim which probably sounds pretty scary to most people. If I am nothing but a bunch of molecules floating in some soup of chaotic, deterministic chemistry, then how can I choose to do anything? Haven’t I lost my free will?
On the one hand, yes. But on the other, not exactly. Let’s first start by analyzing this idea of “free” will. What exactly is there to be free from? We’re not talking about freedom from tyranny or slavery here; we’re talking about some form of immutable, intangible freedom from … well, only God knows what! Perhaps some people assume that they are free from the bounds of physical reality? If this is the case, then why can I not walk through walls, or levitate above the ground? Clearly, such claims are nonsense. Free will is, for all intents and purposes, completely bunk. Why? Because there is nothing to be free from. And yet, I don’t see this as particularly controversial, and this might be because I’m not trying to argue that determinism is correct, and therefore free will does not exist. Rather, I am making two separate claims:
- All events occurring at the macro level appear to operate based upon deterministic rules, including brain processes, therefore it follows that we should think about human interactions with this perspective in mind
- “Free will” is an inherently undefinable concept, and therefore shouldn’t be used when thinking about human behaviour, ethics, etc.
The claim then is not that determinism obviates free will, but that free will would not exist whether we lived in a deterministic universe or not.
Even without this mystical concept of free will, very little changes. I still get up in the morning, brush my teeth, eat some breakfast, race for the bus and start my day at work. My mind keeps on humming away, inexorably, whether I am “free” or not. And this is the secret to understanding a deterministic universe. It turns out that even in a deterministic universe we are not enslaved by our material existence, we simply are material. We’re not controlled by atoms—if it makes you feel all warm inside, why not say that it is we who control the atoms? The distinction is semantic. If your mind and brain are caused by the same processes, then it is not some robotic dummy which is controlling your life; it is the molecules of your brain and it is you, because you are one and the same thing! And for those who are spiritually inclined, this isn’t even necessarily all that limiting. Modern physics has reached the heyday of high-energy particle research, desperately looking for evidence to suggest that the basic building blocks of the universe are what we think they are. And yet, even back in Einstein’s day, this field did not exist. The sphere of the universe is potentially limitless, and it is stunningly arrogant to assume that we know all there is about the world. And what this means is that the fact we are made of atoms doesn’t tell us anything about what atoms really are in the metaphysical sense. So whether you want to say atoms are just “atoms” or are some sort of subliminal, spiritual energy or some wild crank pot idea I couldn’t possibly imagine, it makes very little difference. Believe what you want to believe about the things we don’t have answers to. What the force is that determines how things work (whether you want to talk about God, or energy or the Higg’s bozon or whatever) doesn’t matter one bit to the fact that things are determined by something.
In the end, with or without “free will” nothing much changes. Choice still exists to the extent that you are who you happen to be right now, and that person will believe what he or she wishes to believe and will do whatever it is that he or she wants to do. Even without free will there is still somebody (whom I think it makes perfect sense to call “me” or “I”) who decides to work hard towards a goal. And for this, I am right to feel some pride. The question though, is whether or not this pride is well-deserved. If I was born into a deterministic world, to parents whom I could not choose, into a society which I did not vote for and with genes which I did not tailor, then who am I to speak with pride about my accomplishments?
There are a lot of interesting issues related to this topic which I intend to delve into further at a later date. For now though, this is principally just designed as a primer about my thoughts on determinism which will be used later to lead into important implications.