Chapter-1: Consciousness
Outline of Article:
- The Seventh Perplexing Question of Consciousness
- Thank you
The Seventh Perplexing Question of Consciousness:
What is an approximate definition of free-will?
Before providing an approximate definition of free-will, it is important to address some of the most troubling misconceptions of free-will.
For instance, free-will is often mistaken as the ability to see into the future; and to be able to make the best possible predictions about the future, across all possible futures. Not surprising, these heinous misconceptions of free-will portray this fundamental aspect of all life as being magical, imaginary and nonsensical. But most disturbing of all, is the claim that free-will operates independently of past information. Or, that free-will operates independent of reality, of the universe.
To clarify, free-will involves the ability to make a choice and to take action in reality, which means awareness and connectedness with reality. In greater detail, free-will involves memory, analysis of the past and intentional trial and error decisions in the present. Moreover, in order to make any decision in reality, there must be some nonzero level of awareness of organized time, in particular with the past.
Notice, an emphasis must be placed here: free-will only operates in the present by using solely the past—not the future—to make an intentional trial decision in the acting present. Therefore, using free-will does not guarantee any outcome, which means there is never a 100% guaranty of best choice of options in reality.
Furthermore, having the ability to perceive the best possible outcome, in any future, at 100% certainty, is a contradiction to free-will and to the mortal aspect of humanity. To know the event or outcome of any choice to be 100% true in the future, from the point of view of the present, violates the nature of free-will into a false view of predestination. For, if a person did have access to the precise future, then this information or awareness would negate the whole purpose of having free-will of choice, or of a need for evolution, or for that matter, life.
Before moving on, there is one last comment about free-will that needs to be emphasized. There exists dependence on awareness and of connection with reality across past experiences or events, when describing free-will. Therefore, free-will is a type of function that is dependent on both consciousness and evolution.
At this point, I am now ready to state my approximate definition of free will.
7. What is an approximate definition of free-will?
Free-will is the ability of life to consciously choose to use information about the past, in order to make an intentional trial decision in the present, for the purpose of accomplishing the goal of evolution.
Thank You
I appreciate your time in reading my blog post. Next Saturday I will upload the next part of Chapter-1: Consciousness, from my unabridged book on metaphysics, Web of Consciousness: An Interconnected Life.
Total Consciousness 