Believing in a god usually requires the belief in free will, (at least, it does for YHWH), but believing that there is no god does not demand either the belief in free will nor the belief in determinism and I was wondering in general where the atheist community stands on this.
Just so we've got our definitions clear...
Determinism is basically the belief that there is a cause for every effect for everything which entails that everything is ultimately predetermined by a chain of causes.
Note: Cause and Effect has been proven through Science time and time again, however, determinism is still essentially a philisophical theory, because until we prove that there is a cause and effect for everything that happens in the universe, (like qauntum mechanics and the big bang theory), we have yet to prove that determinism is irrefutably true. Although attempting to prove that randomness exists does not neccessarily support the argument of free will.
Free will is defined as: the power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies.
Free will and determinism can be compatable, (known as Compatibilism). This is the belief that Free Will is simply another factor in the causal chain of events. It still involves the belief in predetermination.
So, my questions for you are, what do you believe? Do you think the question matters? (Are there any pros and cons to believing either?) If you do believe in Free Will then what exactly is it? (What kind of properties does something like Free Will possess? Is it spiritual and how so?)
Personally, I'm a determinist. I think the question matters, because I believe that the belief in Free Will causes unhealthy degrees of guilt and self-contemp. It's no secret that most of us are not entirely the people we wish we were. Most of us want to be happy, outgoing, adventureous and fearless and yet we're not also so. We're not always happy and we're not always fearless, either. This in itself seems to me like a contradiction to free will.
If I want to be happy and I have free will then why can't I just flick a switch and be happy? If I'm in a war and I don't want to feel guilt for the soldiers I'm killing and would much rather be apathetic, then why can't I switch on apathy?
There's my two cents, I'd be more than happy to hear yours.
Just so we've got our definitions clear...
Determinism is basically the belief that there is a cause for every effect for everything which entails that everything is ultimately predetermined by a chain of causes.
Note: Cause and Effect has been proven through Science time and time again, however, determinism is still essentially a philisophical theory, because until we prove that there is a cause and effect for everything that happens in the universe, (like qauntum mechanics and the big bang theory), we have yet to prove that determinism is irrefutably true. Although attempting to prove that randomness exists does not neccessarily support the argument of free will.
Free will is defined as: the power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies.
Free will and determinism can be compatable, (known as Compatibilism). This is the belief that Free Will is simply another factor in the causal chain of events. It still involves the belief in predetermination.
So, my questions for you are, what do you believe? Do you think the question matters? (Are there any pros and cons to believing either?) If you do believe in Free Will then what exactly is it? (What kind of properties does something like Free Will possess? Is it spiritual and how so?)
Personally, I'm a determinist. I think the question matters, because I believe that the belief in Free Will causes unhealthy degrees of guilt and self-contemp. It's no secret that most of us are not entirely the people we wish we were. Most of us want to be happy, outgoing, adventureous and fearless and yet we're not also so. We're not always happy and we're not always fearless, either. This in itself seems to me like a contradiction to free will.
If I want to be happy and I have free will then why can't I just flick a switch and be happy? If I'm in a war and I don't want to feel guilt for the soldiers I'm killing and would much rather be apathetic, then why can't I switch on apathy?
There's my two cents, I'd be more than happy to hear yours.
