The other day, I was having a conversation with one of my best friends, Derek, who studies at Wesleyan. We were discussing the power of human decision making and he enlightened me on his views of human existence. He proposed the idea of a huge supercomputer that could take in all information of one's past life, everything that would influence their decisions, and then churn out precisely what that person's next decision would be. Therefore, everything in the world is predestined and we are only fulfilling a fate decided by variables such as the environment we grow up in and the classes we take in school. In response, I simply said "I can do plenty of things right now, I could choose to hang up the phone or keep talking to you. How is this already known? It seems like I have a few choices in front of me from which I can pick." He replied with another proposition: all of the choices that we don't make are illusions. There is only one choice in the big picture, and according to a scientific theory, it was going to happen before you even made your decision.
Alright. This idea scares me a lot. I can't decide whether to regard it with any respect or not, because what does it really prove? It does seem relevant to our class, because it seems like it would increase the responsibility laid on a person who has committed an injustice, yet I cannot for the life of me figure out what to do with this theory. I'd love some help from ya'll, opinions, questions, anything.
Peace
As far as I'm interpreting your post, it seems that Derek is suggesting the theory of determinism. The idea that everything is predetermined is, in fact, a pretty terrifying one: it's difficult for me to fathom that my whole life has not been due to my decisions, but the circumstances of the world around me. However, when you say that this theory increases one's responsibility, I think you have it completely opposite: if the world is already determined, and there are no choices, then it doesn't make any sense to blame a person for anything. He clearly had no control over what occurred, so how can he be judged based upon it? As far as I see it, determinism basically removes all meaning and ascription of values from life, and that is the truly frightening thing about it.
ReplyDeleteThis makes sense but I was thinking in a judicial sense, as in conviction and punishment might be harsher since sympathy wouldn't exist without values. I feel like people would still be held accountable and would just be locked up or even executed in a quicker fashion.
ReplyDeleteThat is a really awful thought, and I think in many ways we live in a world where that is partly existent, just not in such a controlling way. Every morning, I shower and brush my teeth and stuff. I don't have to, and I have the option not to, but society says it's not healthy or appealing not to do those things. The same can be said for other social decisions, like whether a person gets married or has children or has a well-respected job. Society has a lot to do with those decisions. But the choice is still ours. There's enough wiggle room involved with decision-making not to be concerned(Crest or Colgate?). And I think we as human beings have a sense of humanity strong enough not to allow that much control over consciousness, whether our own or someone else's.
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