Q&A: Randomness
Randomness
Question
Rabbi,
I watched the podcast “He Has No God,” in which you took part, and there you said that randomness does not exist, and certainly is not the axiom on which you base your faith. On the other hand, in another podcast, “Head-to-Head,” about free choice, you said that you accept all the arguments supporting the existence of free choice on the basis of science (in the context of quantum processes and the uncertainty principle). But how do you reconcile these contradictory statements?
I should emphasize that I have no knowledge of quantum physics at all, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there is no connection between what was said in the podcast and the claim about randomness.
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. I absolutely did not say that I accept the arguments in science that support free will. On the contrary, in my view they should not be accepted.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t understand what you’re saying. I’ll tell you my position now, and it’s also what I say everywhere: in my view, science has nothing to say about questions of free will. It’s impossible to fit free will into physics, not even through quantum theory.
The Rabbi said that scientific arguments should not be brought into the question of free choice, and that the discussion ought to remain in the realm of philosophy, and immediately afterward you said that when people ask you difficulties based on science, you would accept them completely.