Seems there's at least a third alternate to determined or random.
What if life is "pre-programmed"? Neither random or up to us to
choose what will happen. What if we are merely playing our parts in
some grand cosmic play? (I don't necessarily believe this, but it's
possible, isn't it?)
Shalom
David Lind
Trickster@postmark.net
Matthew Ketchum wrote:
> I just discovered this site, so excuse me if I repeat some issues that you
> guys may have already covered in previous messages. I've been looking over
> some of the recent posts and have noticed that the issue of free will seems
> to be the hot topic at this time. Like most of you, I've always had a
> problem with the way in which Pirsig fails to address the problem
adequately
> and basically seems to sweep it under the carpet.
>
> The fact of the matter is, there is no defense of free will. MOQ doesn't
> provide one any better than so-called SOM. Are human actions "determined"?
> Of course they are. The only other option is that they are completely
> random, and this clearly isn't the case.
>
> The real question is what they are determined by. The answer is that they
> are determined by our desires. Of course this just begs the question of
> what determines our desires. Pirsig's answer (which I think is a very good
> one) is that the ultimate determinants are the values of Quality. However,
> we do not decide these for ourselves. They are decided for us through a
> combination of nature and nurture. Our instincts dictate our biological
> desires, our socialization process dictates our social desires, and reason
> dictates our intellectual desires. Finally, we all have a desire for a
> certain amount of change or newness at each static pattern of value, the
> amount of which differs from person to person (again based on nature and
> nurture).
>
> These are the things that determine our desires and ultimately our actions.
> The interplay between instincts, society, reason, and Dynamic Quality is
> different for each person, but this is not because of free will. It is
> because of different predispositions and experiences.
>
> This does not destroy humanity or the individual as some suspect, it merely
> redefines them. An individual is no more than the sum of his or her
> predispositions and experiences. That is the essence of self. There is
> nothing more. This may scare some people, but it seems to be the truth of
> the matter nonetheless.
> ------- End of forwarded message -------
>
>
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