Philisophical Question

A moderated forum for more thoughtful discussion.

Moderators: pd Rydia, LadyDragonClawsEDW

Celeste of Elvenhame
 

Philisophical Question

Unread postby Celeste of Elvenhame » Wed Jul 30, 2003 11:27 am

Do you believe in destiny?

Why or Why not?
<p>---------------Celeste of Elvenhame --------------- </p>

Teh Jade Dragon
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Teh Jade Dragon » Wed Jul 30, 2003 12:29 pm

No.

For this I run on less of a reason than intuition. That's what my intuition tells me, and that's what I believe. <p>
Please note: No fighting in the inn, upon penalty of death.

<span style="font-size:xx-small;">Also, No Unnecessary Use of Magic, No Sleeping in the Bar, No Nudity, No Sex on the Main Floor, No Prostitution, No Feeding on Other Patrons, No Soul-Stealing, and No Bribing the Employees.</span></p>

Wolfbelly
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Wolfbelly » Wed Jul 30, 2003 2:10 pm

Ummm ... how do you mean 'destiny'? <p>
"It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again."</p>

Celeste of Elvenhame
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Celeste of Elvenhame » Wed Jul 30, 2003 2:44 pm

dictionary.reference.com/...?q=destiny

Read!!
<p>---------------Celeste of Elvenhame --------------- </p>

Wolfbelly
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Wolfbelly » Wed Jul 30, 2003 3:27 pm

1. The inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one's lot.

The thing I don't like about this definition is that it assumes that no matter what happens, the person in question will end up in the same situation. I think that's total crap, but only because this definition works off of the idea that there is some divine motivation to ensure that that particular individual becomes a King/Farmer/Prostitute/Whatever. As a subset of the next definition, I'll agree with this first definition.

2. A predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control.

This I believe in wholeheartedly. Nobody has a decision in what they do, they are all directed towards their decisions by past events. Someone's decision to eat cake, or join the army, or grow a beard is a result of past experiences which nudged that person towards their decision. We can not independantly alter our own course, but we have the illusion that we can independantly alter our own course, and that's all that matters, really.

3. The power or agency thought to predetermine events: Destiny brought them together.

I don't believe there is a power, or fate, that consciously directs where people go and what they do. That just sounds retarded. Unless of course, you consider that power or agency to be random chance, in which case it fits in with explanation #2, and makes perfect sense.

In conclusion, yes. There is a destiny that our lives strictly adhere to. It may not make sense, it may not be orderly, and it may not be important in any way, shape or form. But it's there, and we do not have free will. <p>
"It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again."</p>

Dalin Rifthome
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Dalin Rifthome » Wed Jul 30, 2003 4:19 pm

Nah.

If Im gonna be a man whore, Im gonna do it because I want to. Not because some iffy THING says Im going to be.

I do however belive that past experiences INFLUENCE future ones, but dont actually *Make* the new ones, eh. Any one follow? <p>------------------
"There is nothin' as sure in the world as the glitter of gold and the treachery of Elves."
- Old Dwarf Saying
</p>

Lord McBastard
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Lord McBastard » Wed Jul 30, 2003 4:49 pm

You look at the Universe and it's random divergence of things, that happen to coincide, how many times have things failed to, more than they have.

So no, no destiny. <p><div style="text-align:center">
Yeah with enough cheese we could blow up just about anything.-Tyler Durden (misquoted)</div></p>

Wolfbelly
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Wolfbelly » Wed Jul 30, 2003 7:02 pm

Basic physics: It is possible to know the direction and velocity of a particle, but not its location. It is also possible to know the location of a particle, but not its velocity or direction. However, it must be agreed that that particle does exist in a location, and is going at a certain velocity in a specific direction at any specific moment in time.

Now, assume that you are observing a box which contains 6 particles. If you know the absolute values for those particles (location, direction and velocity), you will be able to predict where those particles will be in one minute, correct? It may be an extremely complex calculation, but it is possible, correct? Now, since we know that you could predict the future locations of those six particles, it's not much of a stretch of the imagination to assume that you could predict their location within 5 years time, or 100 years, or 1000. So long as you know and understand the original values, and how those six particles interract within the box, you will be able to figure out what their location, velocity and direction will be at any future time.

Now, assume that the whole of reality exists within that box. If you know all of the absolute values of everything within that box, then it follows that you will be able to predict the state of reality at any given time in the future.

Cause and effect ... on a cosmic scale. <p>
"It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again."</p>

5orbus
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby 5orbus » Wed Jul 30, 2003 7:16 pm

Everyone has a destiny... it's called death. No matter how or when, everyone will die, and so death is the destiny of every living thing on this planet!


User avatar
Ganonfro
 
Posts: 955
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2002 9:25 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Ganonfro » Wed Jul 30, 2003 7:18 pm

Wow... aren't we a bit of free thinkers...

I personally think that most things you do are you're own actions, but there are some things that seem predestined to do in one's life.


Wolfbelly
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Wolfbelly » Wed Jul 30, 2003 7:37 pm

Quote:
Wow... aren't we a bit of free thinkers...
technically, I disagree. :p <p>
"It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again."</p>

Elementalist Daien
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Elementalist Daien » Wed Jul 30, 2003 9:49 pm

Destiny does not exist.



As a Christian, I'm bound to believe that. You cannot be a Christian and believe in destiny at the same time. If someone wants me to explain why not, then I will. But, yeah, as long as I'm Christian...

(Before Jean talks, I figured it out BEFORE.)


And anyway, what cosmic force would give a damn about controlling people's lives anyway?



5orbus
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby 5orbus » Wed Jul 30, 2003 10:05 pm

Daien, I'm a Christian as well to be honest, but the whole belief in the existence of a god confirms that you believe that everything has a destiny. God is omnipotent, and therefor although has given us free will, already knows what decisions we will make over the course of our lifetime, and therefore although they are still ours to make, we will always make one particular decision. This fixed chain of events is otherwise known as destiny.

Therefor surely by saying that you are a Christian, you are confirming that you do believe in destiny! But if you don't believe in destiny, you are stating that God does not know everything that will happen to you, and is therefor not omnipotent, therefor being a Christian is wasting your time, and god does not exist as you see him to.

Edit: changed something that didn't make sense, and will add more later.

Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=5orbus>5orbus</A] at: 7/30/03 10:11 pm

User avatar
Ganonfro
 
Posts: 955
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2002 9:25 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Ganonfro » Wed Jul 30, 2003 10:22 pm

Very collected thought, Sorbus...

I'm wondering why people have a hard time believing in it, I mean, is it really that hard to think that something might be in control of what you do? I'm not saying you're not in charge of doing what ever you want, I'm just saying, maybe it was also what you were ment to do.

This is very hard to explain exactly what I mean...The words escape me to describe it better though.


User avatar
KingOfDoma
Guess Who It Is?
 
Posts: 2656
Joined: Tue May 07, 2002 7:21 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby KingOfDoma » Wed Jul 30, 2003 10:24 pm

Eh. I only believe in one event being predetermined. The rest I don't see being nailed down.

Oh, and the one event is the Apocalypse. <p>--------------------
"Spock, the women on your planet are logical. It's the only planet that can make that claim." -Captain Kirk, "Elaan of Troyius"</p>

User avatar
PriamNevhausten
Holy Order of the Crimson Ballpoint
 
Posts: 2854
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2002 4:10 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby PriamNevhausten » Thu Jul 31, 2003 12:13 am

Having seen glimpses of the near future, I would be an idiot to deny the fact that some things simply must be. Destiny gets a 'yes' vote from the Priam. <p><span style="font-size:xx-small;">"It's in the air, in the headlines in the newspapers, in the blurry images on television. It is a secret you have yet to grasp, although the first syllable has been spoken in a dream you cannot quite recall." --Unknown Armies</span></p>

User avatar
NebulaQueen
Moderator
 
Posts: 2557
Joined: Fri May 31, 2002 6:38 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby NebulaQueen » Thu Jul 31, 2003 1:40 am

I think the best, and most simplistic way, to describe my view on destiny is this.

There are some things you can control, and some things you can't. Sure, if you wanted to get real nitty gritty, you could say nothing is in our control, but there are some events that at least seem to be. Basically, all you can do is take the situation, adapt as best as possible, and try to be a somewhat decent person in the process. <p>

<span style="font-size:xx-small;">
"Hear all Hear All! I dub this man The Angst Mysterious Bloke of the party! May he now and forever more been known as this! Ask not his past, for it is probably overly tragic and boring. Ask not his name for it is more mysterious not to know it! And ask not of his powers for it is hiding behind a hood cause he's too scared of what women will think of his ugly mug!"-Jenna Tymisonn, Where the Heart Is</span></p>

WhiteShadow
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby WhiteShadow » Thu Jul 31, 2003 1:57 am

I don't believe in destiny, as while each person effects all those around them via physics and what have you, trying to predict what a free-thinking, human being will do next is just not possible.

Someone walks down the street and meets someone.

Now, they could have stayed in bed, taken a bit longer on breakfast, tripped on something, gotten a phone call, or a million other things that would stop that one event from happening.

So, if someone can say "this person will go and do this due to their destiny" I'll say "but what if...?" for a couple of hours until they say "Then it wasn't meant to be," and I laugh at them.

And also, being an atheist, it's pretty hard to believe in a higher power controlling where we go in life. <p>-----------------------------------------------------
"To fall, to fall... Glorious!"</p>Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=whiteshadow@rpgww60462>WhiteShadow</A]&nbsp; Image at: 7/31/03 2:00 am

Idran1701
None some call is air am
 
Posts: 42197
Joined: Wed May 29, 2002 9:37 am

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Idran1701 » Thu Jul 31, 2003 2:04 am

Quote:
It is possible to know the direction and velocity of a particle, but not its location. It is also possible to know the location of a particle, but not its velocity or direction.


Actually, it's more of a probability thing. The more accurately you know position, the less accurately you know velocity, and vice versa. Plus, no, you can't be sure that it exists with a specific position or velocity. You can only know where it is likely to be and how it's likely to move. To go with position specifically, basically it has a 90% probability to be within a certain area, a 95% probability it's in a somewhat larger area, and so on, up to a 100% probability that it's somewhere in the universe. But, the more accurately you can narrow down the particle's velocity, the more "spread out" the particle's position is, so what was once a 90% chance could be a 50% chance, for example. The same applies to a particle's velocity. I know it goes against common sense, but just know that no, it doesn't necessarily have a specific position or velocity, but merely a probability cloud for both measurements, getting more and more likely the larger the area of the cloud is.

Just as an aside, one interesting possibility is that if a particle's position or velocity was ever exactly measured, it would cause the other value's specific probabilities to be basically zero, although the possibility of it being in the universe is still 100%. Not the measured value, mind you, but the particle's actual location or velocity. Of course, that's based on the mathematics behind quantum mechanics, and as we can only use measurements to get actual data, it basically makes no difference if it's the measured value or the actual, but it's still an odd concept. I can provide more information and/or sources to anyone who asks through e-mail or AIM. <p>

"Never let your morals get in the way of doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin</p>

Wolfbelly
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Wolfbelly » Thu Jul 31, 2003 2:22 am

Quote:
Actually, it's more of a probability thing. The more accurately you know position, the less accurately you know velocity, and vice versa. Plus, no, you can't be sure that it exists with a specific position or velocity. You can only know where it is likely to be and how it's likely to move.
*Shrugs*

Well, I didn't get a very high mark in physics anyway, but my point still stands. If someone did know the absolute values of a particle in a closed system, then they'd be able to accurately predict the behaviour of that particle. <p>
"It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again."</p>Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=wolfbelly>Wolfbelly</A] at: 7/31/03 2:25 am

Idran1701
None some call is air am
 
Posts: 42197
Joined: Wed May 29, 2002 9:37 am

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Idran1701 » Thu Jul 31, 2003 2:37 am

But, as I said, particles don't have absolute values to know. They don't have single positions, but clouds of areas where they probably are but not definitely, and the same goes for velocity. It's not that we can't figure out exactly where they are, it's that they aren't exactly anywhere. Thus, saying anything about knowing the exact location or velocity of a particle is meaningless, as there is no such thing. <p>

"Never let your morals get in the way of doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin</p>

Wolfbelly
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Wolfbelly » Thu Jul 31, 2003 4:12 am

Okay ... I'm confused. So particles exist all over an area at a given time, or they do exist in one specific area, except it's not the case that we can know where that specific area is? <p>
"It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again."</p>

User avatar
PriamNevhausten
Holy Order of the Crimson Ballpoint
 
Posts: 2854
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2002 4:10 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby PriamNevhausten » Thu Jul 31, 2003 6:39 am

We can't know PRECISELY where it is. Electrons and all that move incredibly fast--seemingly chaotically, in fact. There's a certain set of places where any given electron COULD be, and a probability within that set as to where it PROBABLY is, but we cannot know for sure where it factually IS, and its path and velocity at that time. It's just too fast, too 'random,' and too small. <p><span style="font-size:xx-small;">"It's in the air, in the headlines in the newspapers, in the blurry images on television. It is a secret you have yet to grasp, although the first syllable has been spoken in a dream you cannot quite recall." --Unknown Armies</span></p>

EKDS5k
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby EKDS5k » Thu Jul 31, 2003 9:19 am

What they're getting at is that you can't say "This particle has an absolute location and velocity," because it doesn't. On a larger level, such as what we can observe with our own organs, this doesn't evr come into play. Things are big enough that you can say with certainty "That cup is at rest and is right there." But when you get to the quantum level, they've actually found that it's impossible to make that statement. They've observed particles being in two locations at once, and they've observed particles moving from one location to another, without actually traversing the area in between. The reason that we can't know the set values for something is not because we don't have the power to measure it, but because there is no set values, for anything. There are likely values, but no set ones. <p>
Canada....TO THE RESCUE!</p>

User avatar
Ganonfro
 
Posts: 955
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2002 9:25 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Ganonfro » Thu Jul 31, 2003 11:28 am

...Somehow I doubt this is what Celeste ment when she was talking about destiny...


User avatar
BrainWalker
✔+
 
Posts: 2857
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2002 8:59 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby BrainWalker » Thu Jul 31, 2003 12:23 pm

Quote:
"God is omnipotent, and therefor although has given us free will, already knows what decisions we will make over the course of our lifetime, and therefore although they are still ours to make, we will always make one particular decision." -- 5orbus
I don't follow this logic at all. As a Christain, I was tought that God is all-knowing, and all-powerful, but also benevolent. He KNOWS everything, but just because he knows exactly what you're going to do, that doesn't mean we have no control over our actions. God exhibits knowledge of everybody's actions, but he never does anything to directly control those actions. Not usually, anyway. Therefore, there is no destiny, in the "you have no say in the matter" sense. However, there IS destiny in the "the future is already known" sense. If that makes any sense. None of US know what's going to happen, but God does. But he doesn't control it. It's kinda confusing... <p><div style="text-align:center">Image</div></p>

Celeste of Elvenhame
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Celeste of Elvenhame » Thu Jul 31, 2003 12:42 pm

No, but look at what he did when Jonah kept saying No...


WE have free will, God gives us that, but he can and will make us not accepting his will for our lives painful. <p>---------------Celeste of Elvenhame --------------- </p>

User avatar
BrainWalker
✔+
 
Posts: 2857
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2002 8:59 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby BrainWalker » Thu Jul 31, 2003 12:49 pm

Quote:
Not usually, anyway.
<p><div style="text-align:center">Image</div></p>

Wolfbelly
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Wolfbelly » Thu Jul 31, 2003 1:35 pm

Quote:
There are likely values, but no set ones.
Well ... that kinda blows the basis of my theory all to hell.

D'oh. <p>
"It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again."</p>

User avatar
Nakibe
Lady Malix wills your demise!
 
Posts: 1214
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2002 8:51 am

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Nakibe » Thu Jul 31, 2003 5:40 pm

I have to say that I personally believe that there is SOME form of "Destiny". Won't explain why, I just know it. *shrugs* <p>
*lurks*<br /><br />Warning: The previous was a work of Chaos. Anything said above was written by a certified nut. Caution is advised<br /><br /> MY head, Dia!!! eVe</p>

5orbus
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby 5orbus » Thu Jul 31, 2003 5:55 pm

BW you were just repeating what I said. I never said that god directly controls our actions, we still control our own actions, however I did say that he already knows what we will do before we do it, and so there is a destiny in that it is already known what will happen. This is not out of our control, but has in fact already accounted for the choices that we will make during our lifetime of our own accord.


Dalin Rifthome
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Dalin Rifthome » Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:52 am

Few things,

A) DROP the god thing please. Its gonna become a holy flame war. I can feel it.

B) Chaos doesnt exist. Randomness doesnt exist. If you keep looking at the influencing factors, you will eventually see a pattern. eg:

Look at random numbers. Now Look at the numbers that went into makeing those random numbers. Now look at those numbers that went into making those numbers, that went into making those numbers. Now Look at those.... you get the idea. <p>------------------
"There is nothin' as sure in the world as the glitter of gold and the treachery of Elves."
- Old Dwarf Saying
</p>

EKDS5k
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby EKDS5k » Fri Aug 01, 2003 8:58 am

Way to listen to what I just said.

If you follow those numbers down smaller and smaller, eventually you will get to a point where it is uncertain. By that I mean that there will be, say, an 80% chance that the number is 3, a 15% chance that it is 6, a 4% chance that it's 5, and yada yada yada. This is not a point where you can look at past behaviour, and see what it's going to do next, either. There is no controlling factor when you get to the quantum level, it is, in fact, true randomness. <p>
Canada....TO THE RESCUE!</p>

User avatar
Ganonfro
 
Posts: 955
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2002 9:25 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Ganonfro » Fri Aug 01, 2003 8:38 pm

I'll prove you all wrong with the power of PANCAKES.



Dalin Rifthome
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Dalin Rifthome » Sun Aug 03, 2003 6:58 pm

No no, I hear you.

But what is the governing factor that decides ok, MAYBE its gonna be a 6 next, or you know, a 5.

Hence: Look at the numbers that made the numbers, that made the..... <p>------------------
"There is nothin' as sure in the world as the glitter of gold and the treachery of Elves."
- Old Dwarf Saying
</p>

Elementalist Daien
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Elementalist Daien » Sun Aug 03, 2003 7:27 pm

Now Sorb, you seem to not know what destiny means. Destiny is the idea that whatever you do is prewritten for you, and that free will is actually an illusion.

A good example of Destiny vs Free Will (Where Free Will gets its ass kicked) is MacBeth, where no matter what MacBeth did to try to change his destiny, what was meant to happen happened anyway. Why? Because what was meant to happen to MacBeth had to happen.

THAT is destiny. Just because someone KNOWS what you're going to do doesn't mean that you did not do it from your own free will. Therefore, destiny does not exist. Also, I should remind you that God is outside time as well. Therefore, there is no time, and past, present, future are one. OBVIOUSLY he'll know what happened. Apart from being omnipotent, but you understand what I mean.

Therefore, destiny no exist. Sorry.


5orbus
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby 5orbus » Sun Aug 03, 2003 8:02 pm

I understand what you mean, but not quite how it means you do not have a destiny, or how if destiny exists, you cannot have free will, and vice-versa.

When you use the example of MacBeth, he did not have to kill the king, but when he sees thefloating dagger before him, he believes that it is a sign that he should kill the king, and so decides to carry out this killing despite his previous efforts. This does not prove what you were saying that it does, because he still has the option to not kill the king. If free will got it's ass kicked in this situation, Macbeth would not be in control of himself whilst commiting the murder, and would try to prevent himself from murdering the king, however he does no such thing during the period of seeing the hallucination of a knife, and murdering the king.
Secondly this is not a very good example, as it is fiction, and did not really take place.


User avatar
Ganonfro
 
Posts: 955
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2002 9:25 pm

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Ganonfro » Sun Aug 03, 2003 8:54 pm

*Stands by the pancakes*


Elementalist Daien
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Elementalist Daien » Mon Aug 04, 2003 2:33 am

Now, I did the previous post because we seem to be at a disagreement on what "destiny" really means. To me, destiny doesn't mean that something or someone actually KNOWS what will happen later on in life. Destiny, as far as I know of it, is actually something that CONTROLS your life. Therefore, Free Will is but an illusion, and all the decisions you think that you reached logically, it was actually predestined (hence the word) that you do such.

Now, as for the MacBeth example, that was just to tell you what I believe destiny to be. And I was referring to the three prophecies. No matter what MacBeth did, like try to assassinate MacDuff, nothing worked. And even though he may have had a fair chance at winning the final battle at first, the tables turned on him. Because that was his destiny.


So, yeah.


Wolfbelly
 

Re: Philisophical Question

Unread postby Wolfbelly » Mon Aug 04, 2003 3:32 am

Technically, my previous argument is shredded, so my upcoming argument won't have as much veracity behind it, but I'd like to raise a point with Daien ...
Quote:
Destiny is the idea that whatever you do is prewritten for you, and that free will is actually an illusion.
But what is Free Will? The general answer to that question is 'The ability to do whatever you choose.' But then what makes someone choose to do something? I decided to continue working at my current job which can be less than pleasant on occassion. Why did I do this? Well, I need the money, I didn't want to really put too much effort into finding a job as equally malleable as my current one, my current job has an awesome schedule, etc. Various reasons pushed me towards deciding to stay there as opposed to quitting. So then could it be said that my decision was freely decided? Or rather, was it the path of least resistance which my mind assented to?

Think of a river. It criss-crosses all over the place, but continues to flow along the path which is easiest for it to follow. If the river were to be considered as having a mind, it could be thought that it's deciding "Okay, make a bend to the right here, wander in a snaky path, and then curve to the right and down a waterfall." Really, what it's doing is following the path of least resistance. The river flows in the direction that is made available by outside forces. It may believe that ti has free will because it's decisions to flow in one direction or another are decided by the water itself, but looking into the future, it would be easy to determine what path that river would take just by observing the ground elevation.

Now, back to sentient beings, we make decisions everyday. You'll probably make a few very minor decisions while you read this. But are those decisions made freely, or are they merely the path of least resistance to which your mind assents? Consider the following hypothetical situation:

Say that you're watching TV and you begin to feel thirsty. So, because you are thirsty you decide to get yourself a drink. Your options include water, pop, beer, a fruit drink of some sort, and toilet water. You have easy access to water, pop, beer and toilet water (you'd have to go out shopping to get a fruit drink). There's a social stigma attached to toilet water, so you decide not to drink that. It's still early in the morning, and you feel that you wouldn't be overly comfortable drinking this early in the day, so you decide against beer. You want to watch this TV show because you think it's funny, so going and getting a fruit drink is out of the question. So you're left with a glass of water, or a can of pop. In a split second, you weigh the options. Water will refresh your thirst, is free and you can always get more water, but it'll taste bland. The can of pop will refresh your thirst, tastes really good, but you have a limited supply of them and they cost money. Tough choice, so the decision is influenced by deeper, more obscure factors. How many pops have you drank recently? How safe is tap water to drink anyways? What will other people think of you when you drink that can of pop, or that glass of water? Do you risk social friction (however slight) because you'll be drinking the last pop in the fridge? The questions abound, until finally you think back on that post about destiny you read on that message board. "Path of least resistance, eh?" you say to yourself while putting on your shoes to go and buy a fruit drink. You decide to prove me wrong by doing soemthing that hampers you more than it helps. But then again, is that the case? In deciding to walk a good distance to buy a fruit drink, your mind made a decision to keep you in the right in regards to a post on the internet which challenged your opinion. Sure, you hampered yourself in regards to the trivial matter of relieving your thirst, but then again you were just pushed to resolve a deep philisophical problem which challenged your own ability to control your fate. While getting the fruit drink may be more taxing physically, the issue you just resolved is much more troubling intellectually.

Blah blah blah, I know. I type too much. Anyway, that's my point. Free will may be an illusion because every decision you ever make is decided in answer to a previous cause, and in accordance with the path of least resistance. <p><div style="text-align:center">Image</div></p>

Next

Return to Discussion Forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests

cron

Yalogank