Yesterday’s blog on God and free will got me thinking – what exactly is free will, and do we humans have it? There are a few different ideas around about this issue, and I think it would be worth the time to investigate them. So, here they are:
Determinism: Causal determinism is, roughly speaking, the idea that every event is necessitated by antecedent events and conditions together with the laws of nature. Every event is caused or necessitated by prior factors such that, given these prior factors, the event in question had to occur.
I think this clearly runs counter to what most people believe, especially Christians. Libertarians, on the other hand, embrace free will and hold that real freedom requires a type of control over one’s action – and, more importantly, over one’s will – such that, given a choice to do A (raise one’s hand and vote) or B (refrains from voting and leave the room), nothing determines that either choice is made. Rather the agent himself must simply exercise his own causal powers and will to do one alternative, say A. When an agent wills A, he also could have chosen B without anything else being different inside or outside of his being. He is the absolute originator of his own actions.*
Does he then need to have before him a limitless range of options? What if he can’t choose C? Is his choice to do A actually a free choice? As Craig’s questioner illustrates, if I go to the store and can only choose between 15 of the possible 100s of ice cream flavours that exist, am I really making a free choice? How many choices does a person have to have available in order to actually make a free choice? Is it enough to have only two options, A or B? Do we need freedom to choose a limitless amount of options? Obviously it is ok to be restrained in some way or our inability to choose to defy the law of gravity would render us not truly free! Therefore it seems that we can make a free choice even when our options are limited, when we are constrained somehow.
I think the question then becomes: how much constraint is too much? How much renders us not truly free? And I think the best answer is that it is our very natures that restrains us. As humans there are things we can do and things we cannot do. Within the realms of things we can do we are free to choose one of the options that are available to us, and I think we make that choice freely. This has implications for God, as I commented in yesterday’s blog. Can God be both free and incapable of choosing evil? YES! To choose evil runs counter to His nature, and He cannot choose things that are outside His nature. What, then, does it mean for us? Can we freely choose to accept Christ and change our lives, or is such a choice simply outside our fallen nature? Can we choose, or are we chosen? I think that depends on your view of humanity’s fallen nature. But that is a discussion for another day. For now, ‘nuff said.
*These two definitions are taken from DeWeese and Moreland (2005) Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult. A great intro to philosophy – I highly recommend it!
3 comments:
Very well said.
As any game or sport will show, to have a good game, you gotta have rules. Those rules don't spoil the game, they in fact make the game what it is! The rules aren't confining - they are defining.
Well there are technically options A, B, C and so on, even more than a Hexadecimal alphabet could contain. The limit comes when you have a third party who you need to submit your decision to.
Taking the example of voting, the voter could do any of dance, do pushups, attempt to hijack the vote etc. But as far as the vote is concerned, you either vote or you don't vote. There is no limit in choice for the person in his own eyes, but in the eyes of the group voting, he only has 2.
Same analogy carries over in sports. As Robin pointed out, rules make the game what it is. Any "choice" is available to the players on the field or on the court, but as far as the game is concerned, they're either playing by them or breaking them. The choice is defined by the game, and whether or not we think we're playing in it or not, as far as the referees and fans are concerned, we are playing. We can just no care and start yodelling or eating the ball, but that doesn't affect the perspective of the game.
So when it comes to salvation, it's like a game we're all playing. Whether we want to think we are or not, as far as God and the entire universe is concerned, we are. From our perspective, we have all the choices we want. We can even make God not exist (like making the ref or coach not exist in a sports game ;)
Our choices aren't limited. But as far as the "game of God" is concerned, there are only two choices which we can submit to him. We either live for him, or we don't.
That kind of goes off your point of our ability to choose him due to our nature etc., but your post got me thinking, so I had to write =)
Voting is a great example. But in voting you have more than two choices. As a matter of fact, there are automatically three available. The vote itself means that you have something to choose from, ie at least two choices. But one may have more than just two to pick from. Any number is available. But even if its just two, you still have the third option of not voting.
You said, “But as far as the "game of God" is concerned, there are only two choices which we can submit to him. We either live for him, or we don't.”
Aren’t there more choices than that? God says don’t have any other gods, and honor Him, and don’t lie, steal, kill, destroy or covet. So basically don’t become a God-hater, and don’t become a criminal. Other than that, you are free. You can become a doctor or a garbage man, a lawyer or a priest, a gardener or a soldier. Your choices are almost unlimited when it comes to God. He just gives two basic laws, Love God, and love your neighbor.
Living against Him, I have few choices. Criminals only can do so many things before they get repetitive. Living for Him, I can do almost anything in the world. Chemist, parent, artist, fisherman, carpenter. The world is open to me.
More on free will later. This is a great subject (though one that has been discussed thoroughly by the Church Fathers.
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