Reflections of The Blue Sage: Free Will- Does it Exist?

Hello, dearest reader!

Long time, huh? Anyway, the "most awaited" blog is finally here. Ha. Gear up for a debate which will twist your reasoning.

Today I was in my hostel Cafeteria during lunch. So I took 2 of my friends with me and went and sat down next to a faculty member- he's actually the Head of Department of English in my university, and a very good 'friend' of mine. With him were sitting a Professor of Physics(one of the 'coolest' people on our campus, honestly!), and also the Head of Department of Chemistry(a remarkable man who is equally a Physicist and an artist), both very knowledgeable men in their own rights!

So we started talking about academics and ways to enhance the classroom experience in the college, but soon we were on a level of intellectual debate that happens only once in a long while, even by adult standards.

The question: Does human free will exist? 

Okay now this is no longer a discussion for common mortals. First. What is human free will? It means to say, is everything in this universe- all our actions, everything that happens around us- already predetermined, and our choices mere illusions? Or does there really exist a subjectivity in which we can change the course of our fate?

Like, my friend said that it's impossible to consciously hold one's breath to commit suicide. And that if one's face is put into water, he/she can't really decide to live beyond a few minutes. In both situations, he said, human free will, even if it exists, fails. In these two cases we can't kill ourselves or live on the basis of our will.

Now imagine what an intellectual treat it would be for me to listen to the views of a theoretical Physicist on Philosophy, a Philosoper's views on Physics, and a Chemist's views on both! I really wish we could have had an Economist at the table.

Another argument which comes up is, that our choices and our abilities are limited by nature, and whatever we do, the world around us isn't really in the control of the human consciousness. Everything that happens, happens for a reason, and just the fact that you are sitting in front of your computer reading this blog post is because right from the first occurrence of this natural universe, matter and energy have interacted with each other in such a way that in the gradual sequence of events, it was simply bound to happen.

But then, how can that be? If you say that the course of history was determined at the beginning, let us analyze it under a logical light. For every occurrence that occurs, every following event has a particular probability of occurrence. And instead of that event, there are many other possibilities which can occur. So who(or what) decides exactly which one will take place? 

That is where we bring in the concept of free will. Or at least I do. 

Another argument. It came up during the discussion that the degree of determinism depends on the complexity of the system. For example, take a macroscopic system and examine it using Classical Newtonian Mechanics. Start the system with any given initial conditions that you want, and then see how the system behaves at any time t. In a simple system, not really impossible to determine. But take all the natural variables into consideration, and then see how long you can theoretically predict what will happen next. After a certain period, you won't know what to do. Natural phenomenon and probability come into play. They always do.

And furthermore, there lies a deeper question which stems from this debate... are we ruled by destiny? Does predetermined fate govern our lives and our very existence?

I can't really answer these questions, and I doubt anyone else in this world really can.



Visit my blog: A tribute to Rocky, a criticism of Christopher Nolan and more!
http://legendsonsilver.blogspot.com/