Day 2...A lesson in Philosophy?
- Asia
- Jun 10, 2022
- 2 min read
Well I just got back walking at the park! Yay! If I'm being honest I'd rather spend my days listening to music and reading a good book but apparently that's unproductive. I think productivity is subjective though.
I've been thinking about Determinism, if you guys don't know that is it's the doctrine that "all events including action are ultimately determined by causes external to the will". Some philosophers believe that human beings have no free will and cannot be held morally responsible for their actions. Now I'm not philosopher but if that were true, then that would excuse terrible actions and terrible people. If I am not in control of my actions then wouldn't it be morally unjust to hold me responsible and punish me for things I have absolutely no control over?
If I am not in control of my actions then how can I ever know if I'm doing is what I actually want to do? And If I am not in control of my actions then can't I go as far as to say that I am not in control of my thoughts either? If that is the case then I am not even a person I am a vessel for an external power or a puppet for a puppet master. We can't be sure we don’t have free will but we can't be sure that we have it either.
But whether we have free will or not doesn’t change the fact that if a person takes immoral action against others , then we have a moral obligation to hold them accountable. Whether it was their decision or not, if we witness a crime or are aware of one, and we have the power to stop it, then it would be unethical not to.
But hey that's just me. Other people have different viewpoints and of course there are the people who start out being hardcore determinists and then turn to a nihilist. Which in my opinion is even worse. However, Nihilism is a topic for another day.
Hope everyone has a good day :)
SIncerely, me
Personally I don’t believe in determinism in the sense that your actions are predetermined. It’s almost the everyday test of life: to keep your character in check with choices you have the freedom to make. Sometimes circumstances can feel oppressive and it’s hard to see a way out of them, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t a free agent because those circumstances were likely made from choices that you or people before you made themselves. That’s the constant interplay of fate in the game we play called life.