It is both fascinating and disturbing to examine the problem of free will. As intelligent beings, we ironically want nothing more than to nod our heads aggressively in agreement to the concept. However when one digs deeper into what free will is and what it does or does not imply, it’s inevitable that we are nodding not because the factors of it are logical and non-contrary, but because we refuse to accept the rattling notion that our lives are, essentially not our own to govern
So what exactly is free will? Moreover, why is it a problem? Free will is a concept that is defined in philosophical terms as ‘the ability to do otherwise,’ meaning that one is not governed by anything other than oneself at that very moment. Free will rejects the idea …show more content…
Any theory that claims that one does not possess the ability to make their own choices is a terrifying one, but terrifying and implausible are not one and the same. One cannot deny the fact that they are influenced by biological and psychological means, as well as past happenings. Many attempt to prove the existence of free will by using the argument of god. Interestingly enough, free will is a concept that walks hand-in-hand with the all-powerful, all-knowing, and all good god, (i.e. the PKG god) and though using god seems like it would cancel out any question that free will does in fact exists, in actuality bringing god into it makes things more complicated. The concept of free choice and a god that is both all knowing and all good is paradoxical because if god is not ignorant of our choices and is aware of them before we even make them, then how are our decisions made freely? In addition, how is god all good? After all, a god that is all good would surely interfere if he knew that a choice made would cause suffering. To conclude, if one believes in the PKG one must also admit that the free will does not actually exist because that would mean that god is unaware of the choices one makes and therefore is not all-knowing or all good. According to the textbook, in order for an act to be a free one it has to undetermined, but to recur, if god is all knowing and cannot be wrong then therefore we have no free will (Cahn
So what exactly is free will? Moreover, why is it a problem? Free will is a concept that is defined in philosophical terms as ‘the ability to do otherwise,’ meaning that one is not governed by anything other than oneself at that very moment. Free will rejects the idea …show more content…
Any theory that claims that one does not possess the ability to make their own choices is a terrifying one, but terrifying and implausible are not one and the same. One cannot deny the fact that they are influenced by biological and psychological means, as well as past happenings. Many attempt to prove the existence of free will by using the argument of god. Interestingly enough, free will is a concept that walks hand-in-hand with the all-powerful, all-knowing, and all good god, (i.e. the PKG god) and though using god seems like it would cancel out any question that free will does in fact exists, in actuality bringing god into it makes things more complicated. The concept of free choice and a god that is both all knowing and all good is paradoxical because if god is not ignorant of our choices and is aware of them before we even make them, then how are our decisions made freely? In addition, how is god all good? After all, a god that is all good would surely interfere if he knew that a choice made would cause suffering. To conclude, if one believes in the PKG one must also admit that the free will does not actually exist because that would mean that god is unaware of the choices one makes and therefore is not all-knowing or all good. According to the textbook, in order for an act to be a free one it has to undetermined, but to recur, if god is all knowing and cannot be wrong then therefore we have no free will (Cahn