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Originally Posted by evangelicalhumanist
Without god, what are we left with? Perhaps Newton's clockwork universe, and everything is, if we had enough mathematics to work it out, pre-ordained by the initial state of the universe, with every atom doing precisely what it should as a consequence of the conditions the moment before. I cannot accept this either, and would therefore opt for a more chaotic universe, one in which life, once it began, could make "choices."
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I see. Cannot accept it? Is that a rational or an emotional refusal?
As for me, I don't pretend to know enough to be sure, and I am aware of the unpopularity of determinism in philosophical circles, but what I do know, and feel I understand about the reality we share leads me to the belief that the universe is deterministic (but not determinable - notions of fate and destiny are useless as far as I can see).
I used to feel free-will was impossible. Now I think 'free-will' is a term I used incorrectly. It's not that we as humans are free to choose between lengthy list of options, imo. It is more a case that we have the genetic framework for conscious interpretation of the deterministic patterns around us i.e. we can simulate using information of our senses and processinging in our brain. As complex chemical systems we can grasp likely outcomes of our (and others') actions on present conditions. That gives the all important illusion of choice, in what I feel is an inexorable process of causation. I think I might be a 'chemical fundamentalist'.
