So What?

Over the course of the past four weeks, we have all been pondering one essential question: Who is writing the script of my life? Through Biblical texts, The Adjustment Bureau, and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, we have been able to view the question with a variety of lenses. After a good deal of thought, I have found myself to agree most with the theory of compatibilism. As seen in The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Trisha was able to make conscious decisions that affected her path, but God ultimately pre-determined that she would make it out of the New Hampshire woods. Regardless of the perspective that you most agree with, this question is important to compatibilities for two very important reasons. Firstly, as one of the class readings discussed, an absence of choice would completely eliminate the presence of moral responsibility.  Secondly, knowing who (or what) is determining the scope of our lives provides us with a sense of comfort in knowing that we are not alone on our respective journeys.

If we take a look around us at any given time, it is plain to see that there are good, bad, and downright ugly things happening constantly that are a direct reflection of the choices that humans make. When someone does something incredibly nice for another person, we don’t really think twice about it (other than to stop and maybe think about the last time we did an unsolicited good deed), but when someone commits a crime, one of the first things we ponder is their motive. If one agrees with the existence of free will, they must also agree that a person makes the choice to carry out any action, good or bad, and must live with the rewards or consequences of that action. However, if one believes in total determinism, who is to blame for the horrible things that happen in the world? If humans had no free will, they would be void of moral responsibility, and thus have no one to blame but God (or whatever higher power they believe in).

In addition, having an understanding of who is writing the script of our lives can give one comfort in knowing that even if we make a misstep in our daily lives, that God still controls our overall destination. Furthermore, God knows exactly where we should end up, and shows up to help steer us back in the right direction if we falter. For me, I take great comfort in knowing that 1) I am not merely a puppet that is void of responsibility, but 2) my God has my back in the 9^th inning when the choices I make are of the utmost importance. Having this thought in the back of my head is of vital importance to me when I make a mistake, because I know that one mistake will not eliminate my ability to reach my intended destination. One thing that I do have trouble grasping is how determinists plan to rationalize bad things happening to good people, or vice versa. If determinists believe that there are no truly free actions, how do we explain one’s choice to murder someone else? This reasoning is one of the main reasons that I personally have to believe in the presence of free will.