There is a new group of Philosopher Kings online. Many of these people are highly educated and articulate. But what is now coming to the forefront of these Philosopher Kings, is that we, as humans, have no free will. I watched a discussion between Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and author of The Selfish Gene and Bria…
There is a new group of Philosopher Kings online. Many of these people are highly educated and articulate. But what is now coming to the forefront of these Philosopher Kings, is that we, as humans, have no free will. I watched a discussion between Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and author of The Selfish Gene and Brian Greene, the astrophysicist who is still working on proving string theory that would allow for multiverses. It was a cosy chat on stage at a prestigious university. Free will was mentioned and they both agreed that we have no free will because of the Big Bang! So because of the laws of mathematics and physics everything has been predetermined. How is that any different than religion? That God, being omnipotent and omniscient- because of this belief everything, including whether we go to heaven or hell has been preordained. This is the belief of most evangelical Christians.
On the matter of free will, Greene says, ‘You’re just a bag of particles controlled by physics.’ and ‘There is no place for us to supersede in the mathematical unfolding of ‘these strings that are pulling us’ that are governed by the laws of physics.’ Astrophysicist Brian Greene.
Now, when he says ‘these strings that are pulling us’ is that an intentional metaphor for a puppet?
All HAIL the PHILOSOPHER KINGS, my lowly ‘bag of particles’ bows and pays homage to your omnipotence and omniscience!
HOWEVER- I ALWAYS HAVE A HOWEVER
“Emotions and ritualised behaviour are built deeply into us. They are part of our humanity. But they are not characteristically human. Many other animals have feelings. What distinguishes our species is thought. The cerebral cortex is a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited behaviour patterns of lizards and baboons. We are, each of us, largely responsible for what gets put into our brains, for what, as adults, we wind up caring for and knowing about. No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain, we can change ourselves.” Carl Sagan The most respected astrophysicist of all time who wrote and narrated the first series of COSMOS.
In 1944 Viktor Frankl and the surviving members of his family were transported to Auschwitz, where his mother and brother were murdered in the gas chambers. His wife, Tilly died of typhus in Bergen Belsen. Viktor survived and wrote a book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ which speaks of his experience in the Nazi concentration camps. Here is a small excerpt.
“The experiences of camp life show that a man does have a choice of action. They were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. We who lived in the camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way, the way in which a man accepts his fate, and all the suffering that it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity- even in the most difficult circumstances- to add a deeper meaning to life.” Viktor Frankl
FREE WILL
There is a new group of Philosopher Kings online. Many of these people are highly educated and articulate. But what is now coming to the forefront of these Philosopher Kings, is that we, as humans, have no free will. I watched a discussion between Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and author of The Selfish Gene and Brian Greene, the astrophysicist who is still working on proving string theory that would allow for multiverses. It was a cosy chat on stage at a prestigious university. Free will was mentioned and they both agreed that we have no free will because of the Big Bang! So because of the laws of mathematics and physics everything has been predetermined. How is that any different than religion? That God, being omnipotent and omniscient- because of this belief everything, including whether we go to heaven or hell has been preordained. This is the belief of most evangelical Christians.
On the matter of free will, Greene says, ‘You’re just a bag of particles controlled by physics.’ and ‘There is no place for us to supersede in the mathematical unfolding of ‘these strings that are pulling us’ that are governed by the laws of physics.’ Astrophysicist Brian Greene.
Now, when he says ‘these strings that are pulling us’ is that an intentional metaphor for a puppet?
All HAIL the PHILOSOPHER KINGS, my lowly ‘bag of particles’ bows and pays homage to your omnipotence and omniscience!
HOWEVER- I ALWAYS HAVE A HOWEVER
“Emotions and ritualised behaviour are built deeply into us. They are part of our humanity. But they are not characteristically human. Many other animals have feelings. What distinguishes our species is thought. The cerebral cortex is a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited behaviour patterns of lizards and baboons. We are, each of us, largely responsible for what gets put into our brains, for what, as adults, we wind up caring for and knowing about. No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain, we can change ourselves.” Carl Sagan The most respected astrophysicist of all time who wrote and narrated the first series of COSMOS.
In 1944 Viktor Frankl and the surviving members of his family were transported to Auschwitz, where his mother and brother were murdered in the gas chambers. His wife, Tilly died of typhus in Bergen Belsen. Viktor survived and wrote a book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ which speaks of his experience in the Nazi concentration camps. Here is a small excerpt.
“The experiences of camp life show that a man does have a choice of action. They were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. We who lived in the camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way, the way in which a man accepts his fate, and all the suffering that it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity- even in the most difficult circumstances- to add a deeper meaning to life.” Viktor Frankl