I realized this in college. I failed miserably in first year of college, let alone the reputation of Pune University. I saw many people doing well in the exams, but I wasn’t able to, in spite of knowing the subject better than most. It is not the point that I knew better, there were lot of times when all I wanted to do was score well in the examinations because that is what I was doing all along, ever since I was thrown into education system. I am also not questioning the education system. It was about doing the right thing to get the right thing, which, I didn’t do, and so the results. Well, but that is not chance, that was lack of information you would say, because if I had optimized my “study” to do score well in the exam, I would have done it. Trust me I had all the information; I feel I never got the chance to put that information into use.

Doesn’t it happen that you work hard, put your heart and soul into something, and the thing doesn’t happen to you, because you worked in the wrong direction? Or say it was just doesn’t meant to be. In a way it is like that sometimes—I mean it just isn’t meant to be. There is a thin line between you working towards a consequence and you working for a consequence. There is lot of chance that we are doing the latter, but we often don’t give the chance a chance, result is circular reasoning, when, there is not need for it actually.

Plato and Aristotle go opposite on this one. Aristotle says it’s to do with lack of data, and Plato says we always try to optimize, but cannot do so. I say it’s to do with the chance. I may sound conflicting for a second, but I am not, atleast I know that. In fact, I will contradict what I said earlier; we are in fact doing a very good job of giving chance a chance, but the act is more internalized, rather than we actually doing it. But, situations in life are not internalized all the time, in fact the bitter once are not at all expected and our mind rarely is ready to deal with sour moments. I think that is when we need to just get on with it, it is just a matter of taking a left or right, there is not need to make much fuss about it, that is how it is, no matter you choose or not, our actions are always separated by a thing called chance.

I am not trying to balance freewill and chance, and every time I seem to try to talk about this thing, I end up with same the thoughts. They aren’t much different, but there is something to them, something which tells me that there is chance I might untie another knot in the brain (hell even if it ties up few more somewhere else). I am going to throw a fair coin in the air, look somewhere else, what is the chance(after opening the eyes) that I can find out the coin that falls in front of me , and it shows up Heads? I do have to give it a chance after all.

Now say you’re leading a near-perfect healthy life, suddenly you come to know that you’ve got cancer, there’s nothing you could have done really. Science can’t tell when and how your body produces cancerous cells. We attribute this rather unexpected event to a unknown source (god, know-all, uncertainty), we say well, there are few things which are out of control, we cannot fight them, fair enough. Somewhere else I had raised few points on why freewill doesn’t exist, since that time, my perspectives have had inputs. What i tried to say there was how can the ultimate source of event be “freedom”, when the sources itself are just present and are a function of some state in the surrounding, and those outside factors cannot be determined all the time.

Why we think that something is out of control is because we cannot trace back to the ultimate source. The collection of all these causal factors, if independently don’t seem to be decisive in causal effect, then we might assume that there is something extra, whether it is freewill, or it is something “extra”, we cannot really conclude. In the first example, say you decide to cut your hands because something has made you reach a conclusion that you should not live anymore, you could stay out of that, at that time, that will be your choice, but what events lead to the this present scenario where you are to make such a decision now may or may not be in control, say you’re doing this because your close friend is no more. This kind of analysis calls for confusion, there are all these static factors plus the dynamics, which will have their impact on the effect or final outcome.

This concept can work differently, for different people, at different times. When we try to decide for ourselves about whether a decision was born out of “yoursystem”, we may forget or just overlook few parts of the system which might have caused us to take that decision. When we see people talk about things like fate or actions in discussions that surround morality or responsibilities, we never see them being categorical and hear them say- “Its all god”, or “we didn’t do well with what we had”, even though people might say it, we know that it is always a combination that we always refer to. People always think there are few things which we can take in control and there are few which we cannot.

May be, again, if big-bang is moving everything  forward, may be the small planets inside the “whole”  do have things which can have control systems of its own. Ha, yeah, i know, so suddenly one day, out of nowhere, we will smack a meteoroid, and it will be all over.
May be, but what about inside planet earth, is it all scripted, has the future been already decided without knowing the past at all?

Either there is no freewill, or freewill doesn’t need to be originating out of a single ultimate source, does it need to? If it is not originating from a single source and yet is freewill, isn’t it confusing? Simpler, Lets say we have some sensations, that we can do something, there are n possible actions, and we are not sure at that point of time, and take a decision based on our beliefs, wants, etc etc. All the other past variables have contributed without you knowing it, doesn’t mean there are some mysterious factors, it simply means they cannot be written down on a piece of paper if we decide to traceback.

You will either read this or say, why should we think about all these things? That’s philosophy, but whatever you will do, will be choosing a less confused sensation, why not, we call it freewill!!

Our actions after taking few decisions are not compelled upon us. actions are causal and can determine others actions, desires,desicions….etc, that may lead us to a conclusion that freewill even if it does exist, it does in some manner effect others will or decisions to say the least, even though it may be incumbent upon particular self upon that time to control his or her will, witt whatever. This idea can lead to a discussion on moral responsibilities where, we can have ideas of controlling freewill, deciding rights and wrongs and things which society is made of. For example, you make a decision to kill someone (judemental?), someone says you are held accountable to god because you decided to do so of your own volition. Well one must then ask what comprises your own volition? The fact that our mind is acting in such a particular way is not a result of our own making but of what we are subject to. If our action is determined by what we are subject to, then that leads to the question what caused such determining factors? As we travel back through the succession of causes our mind derives, we ultimately arrive at the first efficient cause (god) again. Well, we can say that we can resist these temptations to do wrong. Then one must ask again what causes us to want to resist these temptations? When we arrive at that cause, move back through the succession of causes and you still arrive at the first efficient Cause. So can we take responsiblity for our actions if they really are free or if they really are thought to be coming from oneself , we are in total control, contradictory it may seem. So the notion of freewill is going nowhere when we see that free is not free for few and free for some. When it comes to freewill in mankind, connected to living in wholes , the idea- Freewill is notfree.

Actions, causal or not, cannot be determined exactly, everyone knows that. Science seems to determine and find reason for everything. Our previous experiences give us reasons and determine our present decisions and actions, fair enough? but who can explain birth and death? definitely not controlled, so whole life lead by us seems to be an unexpected road given to us to walk on. its a perception and illusion if i can say that, that we are controlling our lives. Usually people don’t even have time to sit and think about what’s happening around us and forces controlling them. A human can do what he wants but he cannot will what he wants, does that sound like a parable?

From the days of big bang , everything is a byproduct of some reactions. Events happening now are just a part of the whole process. Passing a action or experiencing freewill cannot be ascribed to freewill, freewill is subjected will, in order to truly have “free will” you must be the cause of yourself, make a. Lets take a particular idea, Love, i wud like to mention, whatever it may be, isnt freewill, be it love between people men,women, or the love of god. I say that because we confine love in our experiences and try controlling, but in ”reality” it should be something that connects us to self not the subject of love. Because love is based on a human standard then one must ask what standard are we using? clearly, we are using our own mind to define love, as a result you are also using a human standard,confining it,quantifying it,isnt it? Ideally where, there should not be any boundaries. Something that has limitations isnt free. Everything springs up from the mind , and the very thought is also limited when we think, so how can be actions free?