Q&A: Determinism
Determinism
Question
Does materialism entail determinism? Is there no way to be a materialist who believes in free will (at least the ability to exercise a veto, in terms of Libet’s experiments)?
Answer
Not on the logical level. One can hold a non-deterministic materialist position (if one accepts that there are gaps in physics, meaning that the behavior of physical matter is not dictated by the circumstances). Aside from quantum theory — and even there we are talking about randomness, not choice — the accepted assumption in science is that everything is predetermined. So even if there is no logical necessity, the connection between the ideas is still essential. I explained this in my book The Science of Freedom, and I believe also in the article summarized here:
https://mikyab.net/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%98-%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%98%D7%AA%D7%99-%D7%A2%D7%9C-%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%A9-%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%9F/
Discussion on Answer
Then you’ll have to decide. Life isn’t a guava. You always have the option of disagreeing with the laws of physics, and then everything works out with everything else. If that seems more reasonable to you, and you think that’s the right thing to do in order to preserve the materialist position — then by all means.
I didn’t understand your answer. Do you mean that one has to give up materialism — accept dualism, the existence of spirit, etc. — in order to continue consistently holding that I have free will?
Indeed. Alternatively, you can give up the laws of physics, and then matter too is not necessarily deterministic.
It’s like someone who wants food that is both tasty and healthy. It doesn’t work — unless you pay more. The product of taste, health, and cost is constant. Improving one requires giving up on another. So too here: materialism, the laws of physics, and free will do not go together.
In a material world, is there really no room at all for a person to be the creator of the causes of his actions (the first cause) of his actions? I’m pretty materialist in my outlook, but on the other hand I find it hard to accept that a person is a Matrix robot; intuitively it just doesn’t make sense to me.