A very simple philosophical question that can trigger an existential crisis. Do not sue me if you do get an existential crisis, that was probably a pre-determined event… or is it?

spoiler

I mean I personally don’t see why the universe is non-deterministic, every time you flip a coin, or roll a dice, if you knew the initial conditions and the forces applied to the coin/dice, the atmosphere, wind, etc., you could predict the results with absolute certainty. And free will does not exist. But that’s just my view on this matter, who knows what the universe really is.

  • davidauz@feddit.itEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Well, first things first, it is not a “simple” philosophical question. The best minds of humanity have been tackling this problem since forever, and there is still no definitive answer yet.

    Ironically, for all the religions since the dawn of time, some kind of evidence for free will has emerged from the frontiers of science. Quantum mechanics, for instance, is based on the fact that at the subatomic level, nothing is known for sure. Therefore, the “initial conditions” issue is no longer true.

    Someone with a greater intellect than mine once stated that the quantum nondeterminism underlying the functioning of the human brain could be the key to freeing it from the conundrum of cause and effect. In other words, yes, we have free will. Suggested readings: “The Elegant Universe” by Brian Greene, “Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid” by Douglas Hofstadter, “The Book of Job” in the Bible.

    Just my 2¢…