Predeterminism vs Free Will
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I believe in Predeterminism and I also believe in Free Will.
How is that possible?
I believe the idea of absolute freedom of choice is so scary to people, that very few of us really exercise that freedom.
So the predetermined script remains largely untouched.
If you're holding a knife and talking to your friend, your script says..do not stab him. But the frightening reality is that you absolutely CAN stab him if you exercise your free will. So the script remains.....
It's quite simple..
.
I believe in Predeterminism and I also believe in Free Will.
How is that possible?
I believe the idea of absolute freedom of choice is so scary to people, that very few of us really exercise that freedom.
So the predetermined script remains largely untouched.
If you're holding a knife and talking to your friend, your script says..do not stab him. But the frightening reality is that you absolutely CAN stab him if you exercise your free will. So the script remains.....
It's quite simple..
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posted by David_on_the_Lake at 12:33 PM
5 Comments:
It's interesting. I like thinking about stuff like that. Are you familiar with the concept of 'bechira chofshis'? Which means free will. The discussion follows that how can we have free will if G-d already knows what the outcome will be? In essence it has already been decided for us. So we are not really choosing. It's an interesting topic for discussion.
Where did your blackout post go?
Yes. It's the age old question of how do free will and Gods knowledge co-exist?
What I'm saying is that...we prefer not to have free will because it's such a burden.
It's so much easier to just let the past cause the present..let the template do what it's been trained to do over the years.
But that doesn't change the fact that we CAN if we truly truly want to.
The Baal Shem Tov says that running parallel to reality of Gods knowledge....is another reality called Gods desire...
Just as his knowledge is binding....so is his desire.
So if one wants to break free from his "script" and tap into the Olam Haratzon then one has the ability to do so.
and the blackout post was just for 24 hours lol
Right the same way I say that we are all potential murderers. We all have the potential to be anything and do anything. That doesn't mean that we will. If you think about it, your untapped potential is infinite.
:) Got it.
What I sort of meant to say is...
There are 2 tracks with the same general theme.
1. In many seforim especially Chasidic ones there's this idea...one must believe that everything he or she does in life is according to Gods plan. Even the worst sins.
Rabbi Tzadok Hakohen says..that Teshuva is when you return your sinful actions to God....by internalizing the fact that they happened for a reason.
The Baal Shem Tov says..that someone who has remorse is an apikores because he doesn't believe that there was a divine plan to what was done.
2. Many psychological modalities hold that everything a person does, even the worse crimes are done for deep internal reasons that sometimes are essential to the very survival of the person.
Internal Family Systems for instance says that from our very youngest years we learn survival techniques and it becomes ingrained in us, even when we're adults and they cause immense damage.
So..again this idea that we follow a pre-recorded script that anticipates how we will react to situations around us.
Basically the only people that we might be able to call "bad" are those that don't try getting help.
This is the script.
But is is possible for a person to deviate from the script through the power of free will.
So while...when lookng into the past one must believe that there was a divine plan..or his actions were necessary for his survival (albeit in a primitive and juvenile way) and so to accept them and not be overcome with shame...one must also look at the future and believe in his or her own power to excercise his or her absolute freedom and circumvent the script...
It's just that it happens so rarely that the script basically remains untouched.
But the good news is that...you are not bound by the fact that it happens so rarely..because you are really all that matters!
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