Shut Up and Dribble

 

The Arch of History: Free will or predestination, stimulus-response, randomness, and inertia

Philosophers, psychologists, theologians, and prognosticators are at odds with whether we have free will.  If I do something or not, is it a consequence of my own decisions, or is that just wishful thinking on my part?  Do I have real choices, or are they predetermined by a Deity, the outcome of past events, socialization, or random occurrences?   

Is it just my own hubris and egotism which clings to the myth that I have a choice? Or is it my rejection of nihilism which presupposes and predisposes me to nothingness? A negativity that would limit and regulate my actions, thoughts, and realities?  Is it wrong to reject my sense of agency, or is it a nihilistic reality that I am just a puppet in the game of life?  Is someone, something, or a set of circumstances, coincidences, and historical trends that determine my realities, structure my choices, and define who, what and why I do what, why, and when I do what I do?   

 The debate over free will is as old as theology, philosophy, and modern science.  In this era of data and computers, psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists would suggest that our identities -circumscribed under such things as race, gender, class, sexuality, age, nationality, and ability are socially created, historically proscribed, and antecedent to any real set of choices that I might have.  However, social movements, civil rights activism, and the courage of countless individuals have challenged us to take charge of our realities, change the trajectory of our histories, and create new futures.  Somewhere between the arch of history and the possibility of change is that small area where I believe free will resides. 

If indeed, as remarked by Martin Luther King, Jr, the “arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice,” the question is who does the bending and how is that bending possible.  If all is predetermined, then the results will be the same, no matter what we or anyone does.  But just maybe, the path to social justice is paved with the blood, sweat, and tears of thousands of unsung heroes who stumble and fall, are frustrated and often denied, but continue to rise, battle, and push forward. Then, free will does indeed exist.  It is a rather small,  very small piece of reality.  Maybe free will is much like the drops of water that produce the trickle that becomes the stream over ions and ions, it gradually erodes the bolder and makes the ravine until it finds its way to the sea of possibilities. 

Is it idealism or realism, myths or the substance of faith?  I choose, I freely choose to believe that our efforts are indeed choices, much like that tiny drop of water.  And as these drops join others, they become streams of possibilities that can and often do bend the arch of history toward justice.