Part IV: Choice – 2
Julie wrote a little on my previous post introducing choice in a post entitled “Why Should I Care?” I think (if I took her post the right way) that she did bring up a good point. You can get so lost in all these ideas that sometimes it is best to simply step back and be. Don’t worry about whether or not you can actual make a choice, just live.
I really think that is the answer to the questions too. Somehow we make decisions and somehow we don’t make decisions at all. Predestination/karmic influences/dependent arising happen somewhere and yet we still control our own destinies. It is fatalistic and yet it isn’t. If that doesn’t make your head spin, what will?
So sorry to those of you who were expecting me to know the answer. Then again, I’m not sorry. I know the answer. The answer is: yes.
December 14th, 2006 at 0:06
You were predestined to choose to say yes!
A couple of years ago I played around with Ramesh Balsekar’s teaching against free will. He argues that as a result of dependent arising, karma, genetics, environment, there is no free will, but there is choice–you will choose what you’re programmed to. He presented it as if it was the essence of freedom… Surprisingly, it was rather freeing, an enjoyable way to spend a couple of days, free from the demands of a self that has ultimate responsibility for everything.
Yet programmed or not, we must make choices. You’re right, the answer is “yes.” Since free will appears to exist, it makes sense to act as if it’s there. But there’s freedom in not taking the little self that appears to act too seriously.
December 14th, 2006 at 17:46
I object to “I was programmed for this” as a blanket reason for doing (or not) things, so I especially like your conclusion, Jon – since free will appears to exist, it’s most sensible to behave as though it does.
Some literary person or another came to a similar conclusion, along the lines of, the world appears to exist, so I shall behave as though it does.
December 18th, 2006 at 13:32
“Yes.” Best answer yet!