Okay, huge caveat here: I am extremely enamored of my concept of free will and absolutely reject the idea that the world is pre-ordained. If there were no such thing as free will, I would create it if heaven and earth were to fall by the action. Enough hyperbole.
Imagine that the universe is not only preordained, but it is already a finished object. That time appears to flow from our dimension, but is solid and finished from the next one up. It could be a finished object or a giant computerized simulation. Doesn't matter.
What if there was a 'being' (spirit, essence, soul, whatever) for each thing in this simulation (would beings include only the sentient? Only the living? Only the discrete objects? Or each and every particle and quanta of energy? don't know.)?
What if destiny was that each and every essence would inhabit each and every thing. They could not change or influence the lives, but only experience them. So everyone would be the first human and the last human, a shark and a Yersina pestis germ. Everyone of us would be killers... and every one of us would also be victims. But not just any victims, our own victims.
It would make an interesting faith. A world of perfect justice, because everyone would experience everything. It has an ethical system built in because even though we can't change the scripts (and who is to say that the program can't be shifted?) the incentive for being good to others is that you will eventually, be those others.
Just a thought. I like my free will and I've known too many victims to be comfortable with an idea of abstract justice (though justice is a pretty abstract concept...) so if this new faith arose, I wouldn't be among the converts. But I think it could garner some.
Spinoza's Ethics Chapters 1 and 2 along with some parts from three and 4 would leave you with a similar metaphysical foundation. The subtle difference you would probably get is with Spinoza being is singular, but discrete things rather than having being participate in being. Very eastern ideas for a Dutch lens grinder.
ReplyDeleteKarma can offer some interesting interpretations. Good, evil, whatever you are up to, you might say, Well, it's what I'm supposed to be doing, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it, would i ... ?
ReplyDeleteBut Karma is ultimately about choices--I see it as a cosmic balance sheet. If you do something evil, eventually, something equivalently evil will happen to you (in this life or future ones--reincarnation plays an integral part in karma). It's all about progressing spiritually towards the goal of enlightenment/perfection/the Christed state.
ReplyDeleteJoe.
"Okay, huge caveat here: I am extremely enamored of my concept of free will and absolutely reject the idea that the world is pre-ordained. If there were no such thing as free will, I would create it if heaven and earth were to fall by the action."
ReplyDeleteAnd I say: what if all of the self aware and intelligent creation decided by a free will choice to have a time of pre-ordination?
If I make a free will choice to follow your will for the rest year, are the choices I make in that year following you free will?
Kind of like in the Matirx - you free will choose the red pill but then you have to cope with the pre-ordained outcomes.
In other words, I doubt I have free will here but I know I made a free will choice to get here...
i think we have to look from outside the situations pretend your every character in the script we all lose or gain or at least we will think we do
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