Destiny and Free Will

Chapter Three - Determinism

The ideas of fate and destiny originated from the ancient Greeks. The Moirai, as they were called, were the three goddesses of fate and destiny who were responsible for guiding men throughout their lives. We have since abandoned the view of goddesses, but the concepts of fate and destiny are still alive and well. Many people today believe, as some ancient Greeks did, that life is predetermined by some higher power, at least to some extent. I have pointed out that if things happen for a reason, then some god or goddess type of being, or some mysterious force in the universe as I have sometimes referred to, orchestrates events like some grand architect overseeing the entire process. This being, or whatever it is, must have intentions, must be powerful, and must be extremely wise. For some, introducing the concept of God, or another sort of divine being, is the best way to explain how some things seem to happen for a reason.  

While the idea of a predestined path is often linked to a god or goddesses, it doesn't have to be. A theory known as determinism takes an alternative approach. An easy way to understand determinism is to imagine a row of dominoes stacked next to each other. The entire row of dominoes represents your life, and each individual domino represents the events that make up your life. Once the first domino is tipped over, it hits the domino in front of it and knocks it over. A causal chain is set in motion until all the dominoes fall.  

In the example given, each domino that gets tipped acts as a tipper to the domino that's in front of it. Determinists say that this is how our lives are. Each event in our lives, no matter how big or small, is determined by past events. All our actions, thoughts, feelings, and so on, are the product of antecedent states of the universe, and therefore we do not have free will (i.e. the power to choose differently).  

One important point to consider is that determinism does not say that our lives have a premeditated path such as the term destiny implies. In this view, there is no god that has decided beforehand how our lives will turn out. Alternatively, they state that when the universe was created, it set the first thing in motion. That first movement caused something else to move, which in turn caused something else to move... A casual chain of events was triggered at that moment and will continue so long as there is motion. Much like the dominoes, once one event is set in motion, the system runs itself and does not require interference. Life may be nothing more than an interconnected causal chain of events playing out until the last domino falls.  

If we want to say that we have free will, then we are committed to saying that the universe is indeterministic. It is difficult to deny the apparent causation that the universe seems to exhibit. It seems intuitive to say that any particular event in the universe is a result of some prior, or antecedent, state of the universe. Likewise, any particular event in the present will systematically cause a successive state in the future, ad infinitum. In this view, future states could be predictable and not simply happening at random from state to state. 

A good example was used by one of my college professors. He presented a scenario where a person is out shooting a rifle at a stationary target. The shooter steadies the rifle, times his breathing, looks through the scope, and takes aim. With the target in sight, the shooter prepares to discharge a round. As he is about to pull the trigger, something happens. A rabbit casually hops right in front of the target and stops directly in the line of fire. At that moment, a choice must be made - shoot the rabbit or let it live. "To shoot the rabbit, or to not shoot the rabbit - that is the question!" he said. 

My professor, entertaining the determinist's position, argued that the seemingly free choice in this instance is not nearly as free as we may think. The shooter's decision in this instance will be determined by a number of factors: whether he is an animal-rights enthusiast, whether he wants rabbit for dinner, whether he is compassionate, whether he hates rabbits or not... All of these thoughts may enter his mind, even if only for a second. Nevertheless, the decision will have already been made for him.  

During our lives, we go through different experiences, react a certain way, gather opinions, form beliefs, and gradually shape our personalities. It entirely depends on what type of lives we have lived that determines who we become. These personalities that we develop ultimately influences our choices. For instance, if you choose red versus blue, it's because your personality determined a preference for one over the other. So when we are presented with a choice, how much freedom do we really have? 

If you are not completely sold on determinism (also known as hard determinism), do not worry, it comes in a 'soft' version as well. The soft determinist agrees that prior events largely dictate the outcome of future events, yet the agent is still free to make choices. To some, this is considered the 'have your cake and eat it too' position. 

Even though one could argue that the shooter is still free to choose and go against his own beliefs, I will point out that if the compassionate vegan/animal-rights enthusiast shoots the rabbit, it is because of some other competing mental state that has trumped his compassionate vegan/animal-rights enthusiast state. His desire to test fate was spawned somewhere in his past and therefore determined what his future action would be.  

If you haven't already read between the lines, I'm a fan of both views, hard and soft determinism, but reserve my stance on which one, if either, is correct. I have described a few instances in my life that seemed like certain events happened for a reason, which would imply that a mysterious force has the ability and motivation to interfere with our lives, but determinism doesn't rely on any mysterious beings to explain it. If you believe the simplest explanation is usually the best explanation, then the determinist model is appealing for that reason alone.  

Determinism is not without its demerits. Likewise with the mysterious force theory, hard determinism does not permit us free will. I want to say that we have free will. It certainly feels like we have free will, but what is that worth? We don't really have any other state to compare it to. Nevertheless, this book is an exploration about everything happening for a reason, and determinism fails to address this. Let's see what other kinds of theories are out there.