Determinism - every action in the present is the direct result of everything that came before.
The battle between which is right has been a focus on philosophical understandings for centuries, ever since Descartes said "I think therefore I am".
It has also been my own inner battle.
Many people wholeheartedly believe we have free will, yet in the next breath will say something like 'it was meant to be' or 'God works in mysterious ways' or 'it's part of your soul contract!' (From my more spiritual friends). All of these are contrary to the idea of free will. How can you freely choose to do something that was in your soul contract? How can you freely choose when there is a higher power playing us like puppets?
The reason I ask, more specifically to this article because I am always asking the big questions, is this morning I had made a decision to stay at home and get some stuff done before we go away this weekend. I had told my employer and mentally prepared my day. Then, at 6.50am, this same employer rings me and asks me to work. I politely decline and mention I will see him tomorrow anyway. But it got me thinking, what was I meant to do? Was it predetermined I would stay at home, or was I meant to work based on the fact he called, especially after I had said I wanted the day off? What was it that the universe wanted me to do?? What was in my soul contract about today?
It occurs to me as I am writing this that I may be reading too much into it. Maybe the soul contract is similar to a work one - these are you main duties, as long as you fulfil this role, the rest is up to you. Work doesn't tell you what to do on your days off, or even watch over you as you work. They trust you get the job done and take action if you don't. Simple... Since I feel I am on a spiritual 'holiday', as uni is finished for the semester, maybe this is my weekend and I can spend it however I want, meaning that my choice not to work today was made entirely by my free will and not spirit, God or the universe or whatever is causing determinism...
This is good, since my recent research into the nature of free will and determinism has lead me to believe in more of a soft determinist approach - we can only choose when we are aware of the source of what is causing our actions -
(Side note - much of my research defined fatalism and determinism - fatalism being the beleif in fate or a higher, guiding power, and determinism being the belief in the influence of biology upon our actions and the idea that the present is caused by what happened before and there can be no other options. Anyway, back to it...)
- one cannot choose to do something other than what they are doing if they are not aware of the psychological or biological mechanisms that lead to this behaviour. Like the woman who always chooses abusive men based on her own experience with men growing up and what this taught her to expect from men - she cannot make a different choice until she is aware of the alternative and that her tendency to choose the former is based on psychological beliefs and assumptions about the world and men. Therefore, it is predetermined that she will always choose abusive men until she is taught otherwise.
Many would argue that her realisation of her pattern is predetermined, because certain things had to happen in order for her to become aware, and this I have not thought about as yet, but might do now I have a little more time. My initial instinct is to say that it is not, but I am not sure why yet... It's just intuition...
Anyway, the main point is whether I was meant to work today or stay at home, or whether I had a choice in the matter at all. The idea of removing free will all together fills me with such dread, such fear that I will 'get it wrong' and do something I wasn't meant to do. But on the other hand, if determinism is true then I was always only ever going to have done what I did, therefore, the only 'wrong' exists in my mind and not in reality. The only time it was 'wrong' for me to not work today is in the belief that I was meant to do the other, but if I was I would have, right? Therefore, what I am doing today was always predetermined and would not have changed at all. I am still getting it 'right' despite thinking the opposite...
Anyway, I think for me this little ramble has uncovered something valuable to me... I do believe in a soul contract and I do believe I chose to be here now for a purpose, but that does not include what i do on my weekends!! For me to fulfil my duties to my 'employer' I must first receive my 'job training', which is university - this is what I was doing and will be again once the semester starts next year... So, in the meantime, I am having a 'weekend'. I am going to do what most people do in their 'weekends' and that is whatever they want to: work or don't work; housework or no housework; read or not read; write or not write - it doesn't matter!
And that's the point... It's my weekend now, I will spend it how I wish and the universe can call me back to 'work' on 'Monday'!!
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