Life is how it will become?
Over coffee last week I had a discussion with two of my closest friends. Paulo (whose blog you can read here) brought up an observation that has, for the past week, been on my mind. Basically he said that what happens in life is predetermined by events of the past. Being the staunch believer in free-will that I am (or was?), I argued. In the process of our friendly argument I slowly started siding with my clever friend. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that life (your life, my life) is what it is because of the past. Even the most minuscule act you or I do is predetermined by events that preceded it. Let me give you a simple example.
I wake up in the middle of the night and have to take a huge piss. Why? Before I went to bed I drank two large glasses of water.
Now, I understand that seems extremely simple and it is. However, this can easily be broadened to show the bigger picture like so:
I wake up in the middle of the night and have to take a huge piss. Why? Before I went to bed I drank two large glasses of water. Why? An hour before I went to bed I worked out extremely hard and was very dehydrated. Why? Because I want to be in shape and look attractive to my girlfriend (or boyfriend). Why? Because I have gained a little weight and because of that my self esteem is lower. Why? I went through a bad depression and ate nothing but ding-dongs and McDonalds for two months. Why? Because I lost my job. Why? The company decided to let me go because of budget cuts. Why? Profits are down because people are buy less pink lemonade...... and so on.
Because people are buying less pink lemonade I had to get up in the middle of the night and take a huge piss. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that everything happens because of something else. To be honest that kind of scares me. I'm not really sure why either. I guess the thought that I can't control my life because I can't control the actions of others scares me.
So is there free-will? I'm honestly not sure now. Everything that has happened on this Earth could possibly be traced back to one ultimate event. This is just another version of six degrees of separation. Just think, using this argument you could link George Washington to the Charlie Mason murders. Think about it.
I wake up in the middle of the night and have to take a huge piss. Why? Before I went to bed I drank two large glasses of water.
Now, I understand that seems extremely simple and it is. However, this can easily be broadened to show the bigger picture like so:
I wake up in the middle of the night and have to take a huge piss. Why? Before I went to bed I drank two large glasses of water. Why? An hour before I went to bed I worked out extremely hard and was very dehydrated. Why? Because I want to be in shape and look attractive to my girlfriend (or boyfriend). Why? Because I have gained a little weight and because of that my self esteem is lower. Why? I went through a bad depression and ate nothing but ding-dongs and McDonalds for two months. Why? Because I lost my job. Why? The company decided to let me go because of budget cuts. Why? Profits are down because people are buy less pink lemonade...... and so on.
Because people are buying less pink lemonade I had to get up in the middle of the night and take a huge piss. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that everything happens because of something else. To be honest that kind of scares me. I'm not really sure why either. I guess the thought that I can't control my life because I can't control the actions of others scares me.
So is there free-will? I'm honestly not sure now. Everything that has happened on this Earth could possibly be traced back to one ultimate event. This is just another version of six degrees of separation. Just think, using this argument you could link George Washington to the Charlie Mason murders. Think about it.