My issue with accepting determinism is born from not understanding why it is practical, and not so much why it is possible. I see that if everything is the universe is a certain way, and there is a totality of natural laws, then the universe must progress in a certain way; in this case, determinism works in theory. But applied practically, I do not see the point. If we feel guilt or pride in our actions due to responsibility, then determinism, which seems to remove responsibility by saying we had no choice, rules out a reason for feeling either guilt or pride (blame or praise). Is there some way in which viewing the world under this hypothesis would help us achieve anything? I cannot see a way in which it could, rather, empowering one's self with an attitude of free will seems much more prone to allow for blame and praise to exist appropriately. If one believes that their actions have consequences, and one has adequate understanding of how they can influence their own actions, then, and only then, it seems, would they be able to take responsibility for which action they choose.
So although I am not ruling our determinism as a possible choice for the way the universe works, I do ridicule it for how it applies to our everyday lives.
Q: What can we gain from viewing our world as predetermined, and what can we lose from viewing our world as undetermined?
No comments:
Post a Comment