Determinism and non-determinism, most frequently
recognized as “fate” and “free will” to the dilettante, are two theoretical lenses
focused on the trajectory of Life. Their cross-cultural entanglement in history
is inexplicably linked to explicit religious and philosophical convictions
about the cosmos. Popular opinions and rationalizations regarding which of the
two is a veridical perception remains fairly divided, especially among
theoreticians. However, the scientific disciplines of inquiry (i.e. physics,
biology, neuroscience) which have encroached upon traditionally philosophical
domains, are now abandoning this either-or logic and converging upon the
paradoxical notion of a “soft” determinism, the idea that both are veridical
mechanisms mediating the life trajectory.
Science
converges under the following dramatic metaphor: We are all marionettes recapitulating
the same circular motions within linear, co-created narratives across expanses
of time. On the rare occasion we peer upwards and become aware of the
prehensile forces to which we are attached with strings, the pressurized
gravity of the past, and rarer still do we mobilize internal resources and
twitch so that a specific self-action can thwart an imminent interaction from commencing
or being carried to completion. Contingent on timing, this minor amendment to
the theatrical act may have far-reaching consequences for the scene, the
crescendos and diminuendos within particular scenes and acts, and sometimes the
entire play and the nature of its closure.
Because
the vast majority of Homo sapiens, like
Sisyphus in Hades, wouldn’t find serenity and contentment in pushing boulders
uphill only to watch them roll back down, it might be logical to deduce that
habitual addiction to ingrained attractor states is the norm across all times
and sociocultural milieus. To the extent that we persistently navigate these paths
of least resistance our lives will be rendered predetermined. What might be
able to change that ostensive linear path is higher order, goal-orientated
action or non-action wrought by the normative functioning of the prefrontal
cortex. This complex structure with highly differentiated neural connections is
miraculously equipped with a nonphysical ability to veto, interrupt, or derail
acquired unconscious processes embodying characterological and attachment patterns,
behaviors, mental and emotional states, memories, and idiosyncratic habits and
talents. Assisted in part by the aptitude to veto unconscious processes, increased
mindful sensitivity to the sensory world, to the present, will activate random
attractor states, introducing previously unbeknownst elements of variability,
novelty, and creativity into the current perceptual homeostasis of each
individual. In experiencing these atypical attractor states the latter’s continuum
of possible choices expands like an inflating helium-filled balloon, and lo and
behold, a nonphysical cocoon able to necessitate alterations in life paths has
spontaneously manifested. Free will has been saved!
To have
some scientists step in and preserve the integrity and validity of
nondeterministic views and free will must be a relief for most, particularly
for a universal judicial system with ethical and legal guidelines presupposing
the objective existence of self-determination. There would be a lapse into
social disorder and chaos if there was no existing impetus to hold peers accountable
for actions deemed immoral and unacceptable by the collective social prerogative.
Ultimately, an arranged marriage between the two archaic philosophies shouldn’t
be discouraged, for it keeps all complacent and simultaneously preserves order
in the kingdom of scientific intelligibility and all humanity itself.
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