2006-10-21 05:31:00 · 7 answers · asked by Gabrielle 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
If we were just robots programmed by God, then you wouldn't need to ask that question.
As far as being programmed by nature, we are certainly *influenced* by nature. The difference between us and lower species is that we have a level of awareness. A consciense.
Now if you don't choose to follow God and believe all of your natural programming is good to the point of excess then there will be common consequences. There are diseases. Getting sick is not always something we "catch", it's something we cause. Like if you eat badly you get fat and your heart strains and then you might have a heart attack. You might also reap the social pain because of it. As people are less attracted to fat people and downright mean and violent. Which could lead to all kinds of mental illnesses and/or suicide. All because you really wanted fries with that.
There are many common examples that I'm sure you could think of too.
If anyone's doing the programming it's us programming ourselves. Of course, where it used to be religion drilled into us (or...stoned into us), which had at the very least values that might help you/us to live a long life.
Now the major power (that I see) is materialism and politics. Of course, I'm still free to choose God and I do. I have resources, but there's a lot more influence on excess. We are programmed by commercials and TV to always want to eat, to drink alcohol, to take drugs, to spend ridiculous amounts of money on houses cars and clothes, etc. They use psychology. They've been using subliminal things. They've been doing this since the....well forever. You can read "The Hidden Persuaders" and read about what they did in the 60's then wonder how much it's advanced now.
Just to sell a product.
Now obviously I eat, I drive a car, I live in a house, I like nice/durable clothing, I'll drink a beer, I'll smoke a joint...... controlling all of that is key. It's also pretty much necessary. Can't live in northern Virginia without a car, it's like L.A. Gotta eat. I used to buy cheap clothes, they ripped. You might say it's not necessary I drink a beer or smoke a joint, but I'm catholic. There's a lot of stuff I don't do that people accept as ok. Like have sex before marriage. I try to be a very good person. Sometimes, I gotta drink a beer. Sometimes I get offered some herb, and I enjoy it. Why not, God made it.
I've gone off track.
To answer your question with a shocking conclusion I will say:
no, we pretty much are robots, if we want to live. If we dont' care whether we live or die or have any consequences no matter what....then were free. You also wont last long, and you might very possibly burn in hell.
If we want to live then we must surrender. However, it's when we do that we ARE free.....free to be our (true)selves.
2006-10-21 05:59:38 · answer #1 · answered by nathancarson23 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
If there is an all knowing, all powerful God then we can only be robots doing exactly what God wants. This is an inevitable conclusion of infinite power and infinite knowledge. However, such a deity is infinitely unlikely to exist, so we are down to a natural universe This then becomes a question of the level of causality in the universe. At a non-quantum level the universe seems to be highly causal. A happens because B happened, because C happened - and so on. In this case all that we do is predetermined our actions could be predicted with 100% certainty. However, at the quantum level it appears as if things are not causal. Things happen for no apparent reason. Eventually the quantum universe will affect the macro universe and that total causality will break down. But it may well be that the quantum universe is causal. Just at a level we do not yet understand. In which case we end up back spinning in our orbits as set and predictable as the planets orbiting the sun. Even if what we think and do is causal and predictable, the causes and their effects are so horrendously complex that it is impossible for us to predict them with any accuracy over any time. Even if we could then that prediction then becomes another cause in the universe that was not in the predictive model. If any action is taken because of the prediction then the model used to predict events breaks down and you need a model that includes the predictive model, which will break for the same reason and you end up with an infinite recursion of models modeling models to get an accurate prediction. Read Brian Aldiss' Minority Report for an example for this. (NOT the movie.) So either: The universe is not causal, in which case we can argue that we have free will. Or: The universe is causal, but is so incredibly complex that it is virtually unpredictable, so we might as well assume that we have free will. Either way, we end up with a society that acts as if we have free will.
2016-05-22 07:46:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If we were robots then we would all believe in God and there would be peace and Jesus would still be alive in the flesh walking the earth but when God created us he created us to have choices and an opinion. We have to chose what to believe and what to follow. We are free to to be or do whatever we want but just like little kids there are consequences to the choices we make.
2006-10-21 05:37:41 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is the paradox of the Fate/Free Will duality.
Freedom of choice is always limited by the perception as to what and how many choices of which one is aware. The basic programming of the human mind starts before birth.
Unlike computer programming or animal instincts, humans also develop the means to logically interpret their environment. Lessons in a belief system start in infancy. Logical thought does not begin until much later.
If all humans were totally free to make choices, all choices would be available to all humans. This is not the case.
If all of human behavior was determined by environmental programming, then no human would be responsible for their own actions.
Perhaps what we have is a limited number of true personal choices based upon our environment and the programming we receive.
2006-10-21 05:59:22 · answer #4 · answered by Richard 7 · 6⤊ 1⤋
You are close to being right.as long as one believes they are separate from God they think And seem to have freedom of choice, but it is like the shadow believing it controls the person. in the end all your choices will lead you into union with God where you will find that there is only one Will,one power,and one GOD.God dwells within you as you.
2006-10-21 07:23:39 · answer #5 · answered by Weldon 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you believe in God, then you cannot believe in complete free will since you're following under the belief that someone already knows everything you will do in the future. That knowledge takes away absolute free will.
2006-10-21 05:40:13 · answer #6 · answered by Belie 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
aftet you are free you can trust and endow, before you get to achieve and ensure grants, so there is freedom in your world, and all of us´s.
2006-10-21 05:41:41 · answer #7 · answered by Manny 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋