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Can we chose our reality?

Who here believes in pre-determinism? Are we in control of our destinies or is our future already written? Whether that be by our genes, a higher power or some other force acting upon us that we don’t understand. If we don’t have free will then the illusion of having it is certainly very powerful.

And, related, can we be sure that time flows from the past to the future? We are certainly conditioned to believe so, but not all human civilisations are.

CelineHagbard 4 Nov 17
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11 comments

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0

I feel that our perception becomes our reality - so yes.

Of course life's path is generally a lot more complicated than that, but the basics hold.

0

I'm a pragmatists, so to me the question is moot. It doesn't matter one way or the other, in that if even the most brilliant philosophers can't come to a consensus on this question, who am I to think I can? Even if they did, I'd still trudge along living my life as I always have.

0

Our brain is the destiny driver of our choices. How can anything really be predetermined when we pick and choose our paths. It's called free will.. freedom of choice unless we are forced into something we don't want to do, that's a whole other subject. People choose to drink, to smoke, to be here on this site, to meet someone or not, the list is endless. No one is in the drivers seat other than the person doing the driving.

0

I believe i am only in control to the degree that i may react to the demands of daily living. I plan for the future not knowing what i will be subject to.This is what really makes life interesting.

2

"And what it all boils down to
Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet." - Alanis Morissette

As for me, I don't have to choose my own reality because I don't have any illusions at all. I live independently on a day-to-day grind. Nobody dictates on me except my errands and chores in the workplace. I abide by the rules and norms of society, but I'm no sheep. I live incognito. I hurt no one and no one hurts me. I hurt nothing and nothing hurts me.

I don't believe in pre-determination. I control my own destiny even though I follow the laws of my counrty. I follow the law so I will not get imprisoned.The laws of the land may control me but they cannot control my mind.

"I believe in a higher power, I believe in that higher vibratory force I'm still trying to learn how to tap on to. But I don't believe that it is acting upon us if we have not acted upon it." - Paul Mikhail Breaux.

Very well said, Connie 🙂

3

I'm a determinist. I suppose a compatibilist, technically, but I think that's largely a matter of semantics over substance. I think we have the subjective experience of choice, but because our values, desires, etc., are the product of forces beyond our control (genetics, upbringing, environment) everything we choose is decided from a perspective we don't choose. But, in terms of compatibilism, we're free insofar as we're able to act in accordance with our desires.

2

I can only interact with the reality that I can perceive.
I personally think we are destined to follow a predetermined path.

2

You can choose any reality you want. Religion provides us a good example of that.

As for 'destiny', no. That is nonsense. Each of us is an autonomous mechanism capable of making decisions. Granted, our decisions are often forced by circumstance, but circumstance is just random input. The results of our decisions may not be in accordance with what we had hoped, but destiny has nothing to do with it.

2

I think we can only choose whether or nto we wish to acknowledge or deal with some aspects of reality, but that doesn't change actual reality, but only our perceptions of it.

1

To me, free will means that I can make myself think what I want about something despite my possible aversion or attraction to it. For instance, say I am in an art gallery and I see a painting that I absolutely dislike--to the point of even being able to say I hate it. Did I make a conscious decision to dislike it? Is it possible for me to decide to like it and suddenly like it? The answer to both is, no. Now, I can still decide to buy the painting and hang it in my home, for whatever pretentious reason, but I will not be able to force myself to like it. And, from another angle, I wish I could stop myself from liking foods that I know are bad for me (McDonald's McChicken sandwiches, for example). I cannot make myself not like them (I love the little buggers); but, I can control how often I allow myself to eat them (which, fortunately, is not very often); so, I think there is no such thing as "free will." But, we do have an ability to make decisions and should accept the consequences of our decisions--be they good or bad.

0

Free Will is purely an illusion.

Think about this. Think of a time when you made a major decision, say like to marry your spouse, to have a child, to buy a house, whatever. Now, you must acknowledge that this was not a random decision but rather one based on all the previous experiences in your life. The test question would then be, If you could go back to that point in time would you make a different decision if you didn't know the outcome? The answer will be; No, I would make the same exact decision. Even if you relied on a coin flip, the coin flip would be exactly the same would yield the same response.

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