In ancient Greece, there was believed to be a group of people including the famous mathematician Pythagoras who believed that the entire universe could be explained in numbers. For example, they believed that it would be possible to figure out with numbers what would happen to a peach thrown at a certain angle with a certain speed at a certain altitude. And they turned out to be correct; in fact, they were beginning to discover physics. And now, because we actually have the mathematical understanding to know what will happen to this peach, we can actually apply this amazing idea that everything can be explained in numbers.
It would be logical to agree that numbers can only predict what would happen if we took a certain action. But, obviously, they couldn’t predict our actions. Or could they? After all, our actions are influenced by what happens to others around us, which in turn are influenced by what happened around them, and so forth, until this was influenced by the very first thing in the universe, presumably the Big Bang. Maybe the universe was like a pool shot; the Big Bang set off a huge chain reaction, which is all predetermined. This leads to the idea of free will. Do we have decisions in our life, or is everything predetermined?
Now, I’m not going to try to figure out whether or not free will exists. I’m not a scientist. I’m 12. But the point that I’m going to make is far more important than any argument for or against the idea of free will. Instead I’m going to ask this question, a question that is the only one that matters to us in this topic; How should I live when I don’t know whether free will exists or not?
First, think about how you would act if you know for sure that free will existed, that you could make decisions. You would live life to its fullest, try to make the most of every moment, and ponder every decision carefully. You would live like most people normally try to. Now, how would you act if you knew for sure that free will didn’t exist? Well, logically, it wouldn’t matter how you acted. After all, it would be all predetermined.
Now, take into account the factor that we don’t know whether free will exists or not. So how should we act if we don’t know the truth about free will? Well, you would live as if there is free will. Because if there is free will, that’s great, because you’re correct. And if there isn’t, well it doesn’t matter anyway. It was predetermined that you would do that. The decision didn’t matter, because it wasn’t yours to make.
So if you’ve ever been uneasy about the idea of free will, look at it this way. Live as if there is free will, and you can’t be wrong. Try not to ponder the topic too much, and just assume what feels natural to you; that the decisions are yours to make. And maybe, if you’re lucky, this philosophy will push you to work harder, to live every moment to its fullest, and to make use of the one life that you have.
PhiloKid 