Free Will Part 3 — The Scientific Case Against Determinism

Mathematical Limits, Emergence, Complexity, and Open Systems Show a Universe More Wondrous than We Like to Assume.

Preview…

The philosophical debate surrounding free will often assumes a false dichotomy between deterministic necessity and pure randomness. The insistence is that neither deterministic physical cause-and-effect, nor random chance, provide room for free will to exist. I propose that these arguments are based on an abused form of inductive reasoning, and fail to incorporate an entire field of study: General Systems and Complexity.

The observable self-organizing properties of open systems fundamentally contradict the logic extrapolated from simple, closed, deterministic models. The universe is characterized instead by emergent, self-organizing complexity, presenting an alternative to both strict determinism and pure chance.

NOTE: This is a companion article to the YouTube video which can be watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAjdQddknso | The purpose of this article is to provide a deeper and more scholarly dive into the topics discussed. The full article can only be read on Medium.com, the link to the full article is provided below:

Free Will Part 2 — How Our View of Free Will Shapes Society

An argument for “Fragile Free Will” as the most useful and productive for building a better world.

Preview…

In the previous article, I established a necessary framework for any functional discussion of free will. I argued that the term is useless unless we first deconstruct it into three distinct components: Freedom (the external factors that define our range of choices), Agency (the internal factors of competence and capability), and Will (the motivational impetus for our actions). I further proposed that what we call "free will" is not an innate given, but an emergent capacity that we manifest through the use of memory (reflection) and imagination (prospection).

For this next chapter, I am going to focus on the importance of this debate. While many online tend to treat it as a fun “shock” topic, the reality is that the collective thinking or social "zeitgeist" on free will has serious implications for civilization.

This is because, as a society, how we think about free will is a matter of life and death.

The topic is, perhaps, the most lethal philosophical debate in civilization, forming the building blocks for nearly every system of justice, governance, and atrocity ever committed. When we ask, "Do we have free will?" we are really asking, "What is the value of a human life?" and "How much responsibility do we bear for our actions and for each other?"

Our answers to these questions, whether conscious or not, have created the world we live in. Before we can debate the science of determinism, we must first confront the devastating consequences of our flawed philosophies….

NOTE: This is a companion article to the YouTube video which can be watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEwDZAKLpyY | The purpose of this article is to provide a deeper and more scholarly dive into the topics discussed. The full article can only be read on Medium.com, the link to the full article is provided below:

Free Will Part 1 — The Free Will Debate Sucks, There is a Third Option.

For a topic so important to understanding the human condition, the “free will” debate has been held back by lazy definitions and ideological positions. Let’s try something new….

The Gordian Knot of Free Will

The debate over free will has raged for millennia, often confined to the abstract realms of philosophy and theology. Yet, the question, “Do I have free will?” is far from academic. It is a deeply personal inquiry that underpins our concepts of identity, responsibility, and the potential for change.

Our implicit answer to this question shapes everything from our justice system and economic theories to our approach to therapy and parenting.

My motivation for donating my two cents into this philosophical debate is a personal frustration with careless semantics. The phrase “free will” is so loaded it is currently carrying more water than the Pacific Ocean.

For the first part of this series, my goal is to divide and conquer our obstacles along the way of understanding free will. I will show that free will exists, but is both fragile and precious.

NOTE: This is a companion article to the YouTube video which can be watch here: https://youtu.be/-gqHRgX0ccU | The purpose of this article is to provide a deeper and more scholarly dive into the topics discussed. The full article can only be read on Medium.com, the link to the full article is provided below: