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Hard determinism is for defeatists

In philosophy’s problem of free will there are three major schools of thought. 

Determinism is the idea that there is no free will. Determinism says that everything that you and that everyone else does is predetermined and that there is pretty much nothing that you can do to change it. 

Free will says that you do have a say in your own choices and, probably, so does everyone else. 

Compatibilism is sort of in between free will and determinism. It’s the idea that some things are predetermined but that we have some degree of freedom. 

I’m a compatibilist. I believe that many things are beyond my control but that some things are within my control, and that the same is probably true for you. A person’s stance on free will says a lot about who they are as a person, because it can give you a clue as to what kind of reasons are driving the choices that they make. 

Why determinism sucks

It’s easy to fall into a deterministic mindset when it feels like things in your life or in the world are out of control. The problem that I have with hard determinism — or the very strong idea that all actions are predetermined, is that it encourages an attitude of passivity and helplessness in people. 

If you think that nothing you do matters, why do anything? Why care? Why try? Also, if we have no real control over the events around us or even over our own actions, how can anyone ever be held accountable for theirs? Is it just to punish someone for doing something bad or to reward someone for doing something good if they had little to no control over the act or over the outcome? 

We can’t know for sure 

The thing about free will and determinism is that it’s one of those problems that doesn’t really have an answer. It also doesn’t look like we are going to be coming up with an answer that has any kind of real certainty behind it any time soon. 

The free will problem as a philosophy problem is a fun thought experiment, but to solve it for real in the tangible, physical world in a way that you could depend on, you’d probably need an extremely brilliant physicist. Or, like, a team of them. 

So, if you can’t answer a question like this, why would you try to answer it anyway? 

I’d rather be free

My thinking on the problem is this: since I don’t know if I have freedom or not, it’s best for me to act as if I do. 

Why? 

Because if I feel powerless and trapped by the unending procession of time, I will be less motivated to do stuff. Also, if I am, in fact, responsible for my actions– or even if I’m not, I might face consequences for them. If I do have a choice, my actions are more meaningful, for better, or for worse. 

If I really knew for sure that nothing I did really mattered, I would probably do some pretty crazy stuff. But if that meant that hard determinism was true, then wouldn’t I have done the crazy stuff anyway, regardless of whether or not I wanted to or honestly attempted to? 

I really don’t know. But I’d rather live in a reality where I have a choice. And, I think, so would most people. 

I have no hard evidence for the idea that I have free will. Honestly, it’s a matter of faith. 

Reality is bleak either way 

If I think about the problem of free will for long enough I often arrive at the conclusion that, no matter who is right, reality is terrifying. 

I prefer a world in which I have at least a little bit of creative control over what kind of terrors I experience. 

So, even if I don’t have free will, I’ll pretend I do. 

Just in case.