The Illusion of Free Will Read online

  Agreeing that free will is a myth does not mean we are powerless in an indifferent universe. We need to create an environment around ourselves where we have the greatest opportunity to make the best choices—free of superstition, dogma, erroneous assumptions, addictive behavior, or mind control (aka brain washing). I call it a causal ramjet.

  What We Believe

  To believe that our species is no more than the integration of the electrical, chemical, and organic makeup of our brains, implies that we are no more than complex machines, clanking along in a biological casing. If man’s belief in free will is not somehow innate, then we’ve been taught it so often and so fervently that it is now indistinguishable from our very nature. I selected my profession, my spouse, or my hobbies because it was my choice. I believe I could have acted differently.

  Accepting free will is a myth is so distressing that I would expect less than 10% of the world’s population would agree. Within the atheist, agnostic, and secular humanist community, the majority would probably agree, but not all. Even among non-believers and neurobiologists, there is disagreement.

  Intuition Pump Analogies

  Based on determinism, we are causal beings. The following have been proposed as analogies.

  1. Our behavior is predetermined by the laws of physics, like a rock rolling down a hill.

  2. We are like a wind-up toy.

  3. We operate like dominoes, where one event causes another.

  4. We operate according to the laws of physics, just like billiard balls.

  5. We are no more than puppets or a marionette on a string.

  6. We are complex, organic computers.

  7. We are like rats in a maze.

  8. We are nothing more than well-trained seals.

  9. Life is now luck and chance–like rolling dice.

  While there is some truth to the analogies above, humans are considerably more complex. There are thousands or potentially millions of variables involved in a single decision. However, the point is whatever they are, there is a discrete point where a particular action becomes A over B, left or right, fight or run.

  Complexity

  This issue arrives from the analogy of our brain and subsequent human behavior being compared to a rock rolling down a hill or dominoes. The issue is that even though the interaction of the circuits of our brain is much more complex–this complexity does not create free will; it creates the illusion of free will

  1. Complexity gives us the illusion of design, not design.

  2. Complexity gives us the illusion of being special and greater than other living creatures.

  3. The human being is more complex than that of a frog, rat or baboon. But there are also similarities in both brain structure and habits.

  4. Complexity of our brain creates what we call consciousness–something that many feel is outside of our brain (aka the hard problem of consciousness).

  Complexity also gives us all kinds of logical fallacies and errors in our judgment. We often make either Type 1 errors (false positive) or Type 2 errors (false negative). If we encounter a snake and assume it’s poisonous, but it’s really not and run away, there is no real harm done–except that we are now superstitious about snakes that cannot harm us (and maybe we run a little faster). In the false negative we assume the snake is harmless and do not run away; it is poisonous, it bites us and we die removing us from the gene pool.

  The complexity of our brain, two separate hemispheres, multiple locations for memories, specific neurons for specific events/people, and the complex interaction of the different components all combine to create our sense of self and what we call consciousness.

  Counter-Intuitive

  Certain concepts are counter-intuitive. The illusion of free will is a prime example. We feel like we have free will and we need free will to explain our theology, sin, good, and evil. Here is a short list of other “counter-intuitive concepts.

  The universe was designed for life, earth, and humans.

  Everything is designed for a specific purpose.

  Everything is designed with a goal in mind (teleology).

  All life is designed from the top down. [In contrast with evolution, which is bottom-up.]

  Everything happens for a reason. (contrast with the STE)

  A supernatural agent is responsible for the creation of the universe, life, and your daily affairs.

  Quantum mechanics and the spooky behavior of electrons.

  Deferring short-term pleasure for long-term gains.

  Optimism bias–it can be a bad thing and get you bankrupt or killed. [TED Talk]

  We willfully choose right or wrong, good or evil. People are either good or bad.

  Once you accept free will is an illusion, act is if it is not and reach for the stars–after all–you are stardust!

  We Are Poor at Comprehending

  Humans are best at understanding those concepts that fit our awareness and expectations of size and scope. Our senses are limited. We cannot see infra-red or ultraviolet light. And we often have a very parochial view of our world. We are poor at grasping:

  The very small (atomic and subatomic).

  The very large (galaxies, the universe).

  Very long periods of time (millions and billions of years).

  Something arising out of nothing–the Big Bang.

  What could have existed before time and space.*

  A multi-verse–multiple universes (aka the many-worlds hypothesis from quantum mechanics).

  We live in four dimensions and additional dimensions (see String Theory) are unknowable.

  Comprehending alternatives to a beginning, an eternal universe, or an eternal God.

  Statistics. We are much better at understanding anecdotes and parables.

  Extremophiles: life forms that are totally unlike us. They survive often without oxygen, in bitter cold, in near-boiling water, little water, radiation, and feed on iron, potassium, or sulfur.

  Separating free will, willpower, self-control and even character from responsibility and consequences.

  * Technically there was no before the Big Bang (wrap your head around that one!). There was no outside of the singularity.

  Definitions-Concise

  Below are some concise definitions we will be using in this book.

  Free will is the ability to do something other than what one actually does.

  Therefore determinism means:

  If all the antecedent events are the same the results will be the same.

  While some will argue that this is a tautology–there is no way to know if we could have done any differently–we just assume that, at that very last instant, we could have inserted our “free will module” and vetoed our action. That issue is at the very heart of my argument. Can we veto our action or not? Are we truly free to make any decision at any moment?

  The illusion of free will means that if every factor preceding the exact instant of your decision was identical then the result would be the same every time–that is determinism.

  Free will is not synonymous with making choices, selecting A over B, or creating a T- chart and analyzing our possible choices. Choosing a car, house, spouse, or pet does not mean we have free will, it just means we made a choice. Changing one's mind and free will are not the same. Even making a careful, analytical, reasoned decision does not imply free will–it just means more variables entered the equation.

  One area of discussion will be the role of conscious versus unconscious choices. Is it still considered free will if most of your decisions are made unconsciously? I would think not but some disagree.

  Actions have consequences; whether it is a rock rolling down a hill and hitting your car, or a deranged man shooting up a schoolyard. Some argue that if we are no more than rocks, billiard balls, or dominos, then there are no longer good or bad actions. That is a faulty analogy–a common debating tactic. In our civilized, social world, there are preferred behaviors and not preferred behaviors. Infringing on the rights of others
is not allowed and there are laws and consequences for such actions.

  Bad for someone

  Something can be good, neutral, or bad to something or someone.

  To any living organism, if it improves the hardiness of the species it is good for the species but bad for the ones winnowed out by evolutionary forces. Pain is usually not desired, however in small amounts, for example, intense weight-training, breaks down the muscle so it can grow in response to the stimulus.

  A forest fire is bad for the trees and animals currently in the forest–but good for the grasses and animals that will inhabit the forest later.

  The 65 MYA extinction event was bad for the dinosaurs, but good for humans.

  The American Revolution was good for the Americans, but bad for the English.

  The discovery of America by Europeans was good for them, but bad for Native Americans.

  Killing Hitler would have been bad for Hitler, but good for humanity

  Something good for a parasite is bad for the host

  Something good for a predator to eat is bad for the prey.

  If sun expands and destroys earth that is bad for earth and all living things.

  Normal flora bacteria can act as opportunistic pathogens at times of lowered immunity; therefore what is normally beneficial can be lethal.

  Complexity can be a source of error, a cognitive bias, and not accuracy; because something is more complex we assume it is special and different.

  If the universe expands indefinitely it will be bad for all life.

  Probably the most universal example of badness would be anyone preying on the weak: child abuse and rape.

  Adversity Makes Us Stronger

  Is this an urban myth or does research support it? A recent study showed some, moderate adversity was better–compared to no adversity or intense adversity. In addition the study confirmed other research that two individuals can experience the same level of adversity with one affected negatively and the other not. There is evidence that there is a genetic, and subsequently, an epigenetic component to how we handle adversity.

  The term is hormesis–when a bit of a harmful substance or stressor, in just the right dose or intensity, stimulates the organism to grow and improve. In other words, minor setbacks, being cold, getting fired, or missing a putt can inspire us to try again, build a fire, study harder, or practice. This is not homeopathy where a substance is diluted in water to the point where the original molecules are no longer relevant. At issue concerning this topic is whether our response to these stimuli can be considered “a lack of willpower?”

  The causal ramjet takeaway is this:

  1. The feel the burn adage has some merit; if you’re not sweating you’re not really working out.

  2. Long term results may require some short term sacrifice or unpleasantness.

  3. From an operant conditioning perspective, an intermittent reward schedule is best to ensure continued behavior–both the timing and the size of the reward should change.

  4. Our mind needs to process why is this happening to me? Without a supernatural influence, we have to make sense of our failures. The old adage of making lemonade out of lemonade still holds true in a deterministic world.

  5. Necessity is the mother of invention: New ideas arise from filling a need.

  6. Think of natural selection: This is a process where the death of an individual, weaker organism is good for the gene pool and the species.

  7. Winning all the time, early in life, can create optimism bias and a feeling of entitlement leading to foolhardy behavior and a sense of entitlement.

  The study, "Whatever Does Not Kill Us: Cumulative Lifetime Adversity, Vulnerability and Resilience

  The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, is available on the website of the American Psychological Association at http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2010-21218-001/

  Also read Nassim Nicholas Taleb (The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness) for more on this topic.

  Thought experiment: If a man lived alone on an island and engaged in self-mutilation–is that wrong or bad? How about a man who has terminal cancer but refuses medical care and wants to suffer like Christ? Is that bad? And finally, for all the millions who have martyred themselves for a religious cause. They probably endured a painful and early death. But was their life bad?

  Not as easy determining goodness or badness as you thought, eh?

  Self-control and willpower are byproducts of free will; we assume that certain bad or evil people lack self-control. Throughout this book we will explore genetics, epigenetics (genetic expression), environment, socialization, biochemical, and bioneurological factors to show how, if every factor, down the last atom was the same–the results would be the same–even our cherished willpower.

  Someone who believes in free will would argue that we can always resist external influences and make the "correct" decision. However, accepting that our free will is nonexistent helps us formulate a strategy to get the facts first and make reasoned choices. Remember my initial statement: I am promoting evidence, reason, and the scientific method. I know that more often than not we don’t have complete information, but accepting that we are influenced by genetics and numerous factors–most of which we are not consciously aware of–helps us make better choices, not worse.

  Determinism is not an excuse to allow any behavior.

  Repeat that as many times as necessary during your next debate on the illusion of free will.

  Charles Hard Townes, an American Nobel Prize-winning physicist and educator, explains determinism this way:

  “all a determinist says is that if the same universe was taken, particle by particle, as it existed at the beginning of this universe, and then left to play out....it would play out exactly the same as this one.”

  On Disobedience

  Let’s examine what is to many a cardinal sin–disobedience. It can be disobedience to God, the law, a ruler, king, or your father. Is this always bad? As an example, I would posit that the thought process that leads to someone rejecting a popular claim, or “swim against the current” is inherent. In other words, the person who is a skeptic or being willfully disobedient would be the same regardless of time, culture, or religion.

  It is much easier and more rewarding to conform. Being different is difficult. Therefore a person in a Muslim country, who adopts Christianity, would be the same person in a Christian country who adopts Islam. Switch the location of their birth and their choice of religion would switch. I am not skeptical of any one religion, God, or belief system. I am skeptical of all of them. The same fundamentalists that accept the Christian Bible as the inerrant word of God would be the same exact people who would accept the Koran as the revealed word of Allah. And I am much more accepting of the “Coexist bumper sticker” than John 14:6:

  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

  So for me, there is no difference between praying to God to cure your cancer and using the Law of Attraction. They both invoke the same supernatural, superstitious belief based on faith without evidence, wishful thinking and the survivor bias (I was cured so God or the universe heeded my prayers; my belief was true).

  And a Christian cannot assert that disobedience is bad; they want Muslims to be disobedient to their God, their religion, and their culture. Being sheep, in this context, is damnation and an eternity in hell based on Christian teachings.

  Determinism

  If we knew all the variables that influence our decisions then we could predict what we would do next. It is as simple as that. What complicates the issue of free will is the role of responsibility and blame.

  All matter and energy are covered by the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology.

  Determinism says that there is at any instant exactly one physically possible future.

  If determinism is true, the future is as fixed as is the past. But we don't know it; we really are not aware of it and it should not affect how
we behave today.

  Causal determinism is the view that everything that happens or exists is caused by sufficient antecedent conditions, making it impossible for anything to happen or be other than it is.

  Logical determinism means what is going to happen in the future is going to happen, and therefore is unavoidable.

  Scientific determinism identifies the relevant antecedent conditions as a combination of prior states of the universe and the laws of nature.

  Theological determinism identifies those conditions as being the nature and will of God. The best example is Calvinism and God selecting who is saved. This arrives at the same conclusion from theology and not science.

  Determinism is often considered synonymous with fatalism–the view that we are powerless to do anything other than what we actually do. In that sense it is but it should be distinguished from defeatism and nihilism, which imply accepting our fate as predestined or inevitable. This is a popular philosophical and apologist argument that I wish to dispel. I don’t think it’s intuitively obvious, but the attitude to quit if you’re overweight, an alcoholic, or unemployed is, in itself, a predetermined behavior based on causal events. Your goal is to break the chain of negative causal events. Accepting the cold fact that you are a broken machine should lead to self-discovery and a strategy to repair yourself. Feeling that you are evil, bad, wicked or sinful do not help. I guess that one could argue that needing the cure of religion and God does help billions. I cannot argue that fact. For the millions who feel that sins of the father, vicarious atonement, and faith are suspect, I offer an alternative worldview.