yerss> you do not... what? 😖
IMHO, how could we know if some things are set? We can only guess. We see things happening and we say they were meant to happen. But how can we possibly know that? It is and will always be one of the big mysteries of life... no matter how many theories we produce about it, no-one can know for sure.
And since we can't be sure, there are two options: Either believe you can change your life for better, and fight for it, or just sit and accept your fate passively, believing what is going to be done, WILL be done, no matter how hard you try.
I'll go for the first.
Originally posted by Ushgarak
Yay! And Evy is Greek so we have to listen to her.(nods)
Exactly 😄
Besides, ancient greek were wise people 😉
I think that free will is an illusion, but that doesn't mean that I just sit around to see what happens. I go ahead and operate under that illusion, knowing that in the end, I will have done exactly as I was supposed to do. Everything/one has a purpose and can't be outside of that purpose. I think some of the stuff that M. Night Shayamalan (sp.?) has hinted at in his movies is really good in regard to this idea. Of course, I cannot prove any of this - it's just what I believe. 😄
Biblicly speaking, everyone already has a predetermined fate. Think about it...if God already knows what you are going to do before you do it, and he has your entire life mapped out in front of him, then you really have no free will at all. While you're on this Earth, you make choices, that is true...only because there are different decisions you can make. But God, apparently, already knows what you are going to choose, thus making our "choice" no more than fate. I'm not sure I believe in God or the Bible, but I know enough about both to back up my opinion.
In our evolutionary worldview, there always is a choice: a variety of possibilities, some of which are retained by selection. Because of their capacity for thought, people are not only free to choose between given possibilities, but able to conceive novel possibilities and explore their consequences.
Re: Free Will?
Originally posted by Storm
Free will, the doctrine that an individual, regardless of forces external to him, can and does choose his actions.
The existence of free will is challenged by determinism. Every event is the inevitable result of antecedent causes. We, as humans, are determined through our society, religion, ...What does it mean to make a choice?
The world will respond to what and who you think you are in your heart. Pain in your heart will reflect as struggle and hardship in your life. You will receive it because you ask it from the world. You get what you give. With our actions we express that giving or lack of. Our expression in the world is how it will be reflected back at us. If you're free, unguarded, and completely giving, invested in the expansion of love, growth, fun 🙂 Then the world is a playground and you are a child in it without a care in the world. Everyone remember how that felt? (heh heh heh) That is how I would see choice as important or what it means to make a choice. Life/death, love/pain make your choice and accept the reflection. 🙂
Almost everything in our lives is controlled by choice. It's just that people many times don't notice that they are making choices, because it seems so blatantly obvious that one choice is much better than the other. For example, when I take a shower and wash my hair, I always have the choice to not wash the shampoo out of my hair. Even if there was somebody standing there holding a gun to my head, I would have a choice. But I don't want to leave the shampoo in my hair because it makes my head itch and my hair looks dull. In the scenario with the guy holding a gun to my head, it could get me shot. There is always a choice that we make, even if we are not aware of it.
Originally posted by Ushgarak
The last thing anyone should ever strive to be is a person with the mentality of a child without a care in the world.
That's not what he was getting at. I don't think he said once that he'd like to have the mentality of a child. I think he meant that he'd like to be able to continue to breathe easy, to not see all responsibilities that come with age as weights. By "without a care in the world" I think he wanted to say that whatever decision we make, as adults, we should be comfortable with. As children, when we make a decision we feel pride and satisfaction, no matter how small the consequence. I'd like to keep that pride no matter my age.
Re: Free Will?
Originally posted by Storm
Free will, the doctrine that an individual, regardless of forces external to him, can and does choose his actions.
The existence of free will is challenged by determinism. Every event is the inevitable result of antecedent causes. We, as humans, are determined through our society, religion, ...What does it mean to make a choice?
Well the stricture imposed by society (ie everyone else) is very limiting indeed, but within that I expect there is free will.