Free will and determinism are both
very different, however I completely understand why some people agree with
determinism and why others agree with free will. This class has made me think
every week about what I truly agree with. Do I make my own decisions in life,
or is my whole life already planned out?
After
going back over all of the “classic categories” of Determinism I find that I
agree with multiple positions. Mechanistic determinism is the first category
that I believe my life follows. Mechanistic determinism “argues the process of
cause and effect”. The first example that takes place in my mind is baseball.
In high school I was really interested in Belmont and was hoping to get offered
a scholarship to play baseball here, but never received a phone call. Since Belmont did not recruit me while I was in high school I had to choose somewhere else. I decided to play baseball at a school in Louisiana which so happened to not work out for me which then led me to
junior college. After a year in junior college I received a phone call from the
coach here at Belmont and the recruiting process began which obviously ended up
in the opportunity for me to attend Belmont. One school led to the next, and somehow I
ended up at a University that I have always wanted to attend.
Theological
determinism is another category that I agree with. Theological determinism
“argues that God ultimately orchestrates all or at least some of our choices
and actions”. I have always believed
that everything happens for a reason and even in the “classic categories” notes
the example of everything happens for a reason is used. When I was growing up I
was always taught that God has a plan for everyone’s lives. Since God has a
plan for our lives and that everything happens for a reason I catch myself
agreeing a lot with theological determinism.
After
going through every single category I soon realized that almost every single
category seems to fit my life to some degree, or at least I could justify every
single category with an event or events that have happened in my life. For this
reason I find myself understanding my life as compatibilism. “Compatibilism is the idea that determinism
and free will exist together”. I did not choose who my family, how tall I
am, or where I am from. Just like everyone else. At the same time I believe that when I woke up this
morning I had the decision to either stay in bed and skip my 8 a.m. or make the
smart decision and attend class. I think God knew what decision I was going to
make before I did. For that reason I believe he has our lives planned out for
us and we are under his control, however at the same time I am able to make my
own decisions in life. Such as whether or not I want to get a few extra hours
of sleep or wake up for class. And even the harder decisions such as asking a
girl to marry me. I am have the ultimate decision in what I do in life, however
at the exact same time God is influencing our lives to push us to make the decisions
that he wants.
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