Philosophy: Free Will vs. Determinism

The Wave Structure of Matter (WSM) explains Limited Free Will (not Determinism)
in a Necessarily Connected Finite Spherical Universe within an Infinite Space.
Philosophers Quotes / Quotations Free Will (Freewill) vs. Determinism

What we need for understanding rational human behaviour - and indeed, animal behaviour - is something intermediate in character between perfect chance and perfect determinism - something intermediate between perfect clouds and perfects clocks. (Karl Popper, 1975)

Since actions and performances are not wholly in our power and since nothing is really in our power but our will- it is on the will that all the rules and duties of Man are based and established.
(Michel de Montaigne, 1572)

There is no mind absolute or free will, but the mind is determined for willing this or that by a cause which is determined in its turn by another cause, and this one again by another, and so on to infinity.
(Benedictus de Spinoza, 1673)

Introduction: The Problem of Free Will & Determinism

The problem of Free Will vs. Determinism has puzzled philosophers for thousands of years. It is a profound problem for without Free Will there can be no morality, no right and wrong, no good and evil. All our behaviours would be pre-determined and we would have no creativity or choice.

One important lesson of philosophy is that we must carefully define our words if we are to understand and reason correctly. If we examine these words free-will and determinism carefully we find they do not exist in physical reality, they are simply concepts made up by humans, just as we are able to create dragons and particles in our mind / imagination.

Free-Will: Does any person have the freedom to transport their body to the moon, to float above the earth? Obviously we can build machines to do this, but in every case our freedom is limited by physical reality and the laws of nature and we observe this in everything we do - driving cars, walking, using lights at night. i.e. We are forced to abide by the laws of light, gravity and nuclear forces.
The important distinction is to say that we have Limited Free Will, the reason for this distinction will become apparent very shortly when we solve this problem.

Determinism:

Common sense (and most importantly, Darwinian Evolution) suggests that we do in fact have Free Will, that we can decide and determine our futures within the limits of physical reality. However, the only absolute way to solve this problem of Philosophy is to know what exists and how it is interconnected, i.e. True Knowledge of Reality.
Recent discoveries on the Properties of Space and the Wave Structure of Matter (WSM) confirm that we can know and understand the physical reality of the world which we experience, and thus explain how we can have limited free will in a necessarily connected universe. (See links at the top of the page).

It is important to appreciate the difference between a Necessarily Connected Universe, which ours is, (due to Space and its interconnected wave-motions) and a Deterministic Universe which requires knowledge of the 'initial conditions' from which things, being necessarily connected, can then be determined.
Stated simply, an Infinite system can never be pre-determined. We live in a finite and 'Necessarily Connected' Universe, but because it is within an Infinite Space, and continually has waves flowing into it that have come from Infinity, they can never be pre-determined. See Cosmology This explains the uncertainty of Quantum Theory and that we can never exactly know where each successive In-Wave will meet at its wave-center 'particle', thus we can never exactly know both the future motion (momentum) and position of the ‘Particle’ (i.e. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle).

This is very important as it also explains why we can have limited free will, and thus live as moral creatures creating better futures for ourselves and our society (a very important thing). We should also emphasize that our free will is limited by this necessary connection of matter. We do not have the freedom to defy gravity and make ourselves float upwards, but within the constraints of necessary connection there are still many possible futures. We can choose to read this, or we can decide to stop reading it. Both are possible futures that obey the laws of physics and the necessary connections between things. Thus Spinoza is both right and wrong when he writes;

There is no mind absolute or free will, but the mind is determined for willing this or that by a cause which is determined in its turn by another cause, and this one again by another, and so on to infinity. (Spinoza, 1673)

His error was to not understand how lack of pre-determined knowledge in an infinite though necessarily connected system causes chance and limited free will. This is explained in more detail below.

Geoff Haselhurst

Limited Free Will in a Necessarily Connected Universe

Our Finite Spherical Universe within Infinite Space is Necessarily Connected but not Deterministic

It is very important to appreciate the difference between a Necessarily Connected Universe, which ours is, (as explained by the central Principle of the Wave Structure of Matter) and a Deterministic Universe which requires knowledge of the 'initial conditions' from which things, being necessarily connected, can then be determined.
As the WSM Cosmology explains, we exist in a finite and 'Necessarily Connected' Universe (due to the Properties of Space as a continuously connected wave medium), whereas Space itself must be Infinite (One thing existing is necessarily Infinite and Eternal). Thus our finite spherical universe continually has waves flowing into it that have come from Infinity, and can never be pre-determined (an infinite system cannot be predetermined). Thus Spinoza is correct when he writes;

A body in motion or at rest must be determined for motion or rest by some other body, which, likewise, was determined for motion or rest by some other body, and this by a third and so on to infinity. (Spinoza, 1673)

This also explains why even the Motion of planets is not determinable if we consider long periods of time, as Lerner explains;

The Cartesian idea of a set of universal laws which control natural occurrences exercised a powerful appeal in the succeeding centuries. Laplace, even as he developed his theory of a naturally evolving cosmos, endorsed the idea that, given the laws of gravitation, Newtonian mechanics, and the 'initial conditions' of the universe, every subsequent event not only can be accurately predicted, but is predetermined. The whole history of the universe, and of earth, is the inevitable operation of a set of eternal laws. In modern terms, Laplace believed that mathematical physics constitutes a Theory of Everything.

With absolute, infinite knowledge of the comet's velocity and infinite precision in calculation, its orbit is simply unpredictable. Yet this is not an effect of 'chance'. At all points the orbit was under precise control of the laws of gravitation as programmed into the simulation. The unpredictability came from the instability of the three-body interaction.

This doesn't mean we can't make useful predictions about the future. We can if the amount of time we try to predict is short enough. For unstable systems this time limit is the amount of time that passes between collisions of the particles that make up the system. For the comet this is a single orbit, but for a gas a tiny fraction of a second. We can, however, make useful statistical predictions; on average the comet will probably last about 150 orbits. And of course many systems are sufficiently close to stable that we can ignore their instability because the rate at which their instabilities grow is far longer than we need to worry about. For example, the orbits of the planets in our actual solar system appear to be unpredictable in excess of twenty million years from now. For all intents and purposes, in plotting a space mission the system is absolutely stable, predictable and reversible. (Lerner, 1991)

Determinism Vs. Free Will

The problem of whether Humans have free will or whether all our actions are pre-determined and our apparent free will is simply an illusion is profoundly important to Humanity, for the answer to this question will tell us whether we can determine our own future, and whether the concept of Morality actually exists (for if we had no free will, then there could be no such thing as morality!).
The solution is quite simple though and can be easily understood with the aid of the following example;

Let us take a normal pack of playing cards (52 cards - 13 Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs) and I shall place the Ace of Hearts face down on the top of the pack.
Thus I am both necessarily connected to the Ace of Hearts (as I am to all matter in the universe) and I have pre-determined knowledge of the exact card, thus I can be certain that if I turn the card over it will be the Ace of Hearts. So we see that while I have complete knowledge of the system then there is no chance involved - the system is both necessarily connected and pre-determined.

Now let us further imagine that I place this pack of cards in front of someone else who has no knowledge of the fact that the Ace of Hearts is the top card. So while they are still necessarily connected to the top card (Ace of Hearts) they do not have pre-determined knowledge of this card, thus if I ask them to tell me which card is on top of the pack they only have a one in fifty two chance of guessing correctly. Thus we see how chance exists when we do not have pre-determined knowledge (even though we are still necessarily connected).

Further, in a necessarily connected but non determined universe, there are many possible futures (within the constraints of the properties of Space and the waves structure of matter - we can't flap our arms and fly!).

If we now apply this knowledge to the matter of brain and body (which is the cause of our human mind) we realise that while we are necessarily connected to the other matter in the universe, we can never have pre-determined knowledge of the motions of this other matter (as explained above due to the system being infinite) thus explaining how chance (due to lack of pre-determined knowledge) exists in the universe.

Hence evolution of our brain and mind can use this chance to allow us to creatively think of new and novel ideas and relationships that we can then remember, and then we can use chance again to select from these various chance relationships to determine actions. Now while this is a very simplified explanation of how our mind works, and there may be millions of ‘layers’ to these chance selections, each with various degrees of probabilities for selecting different outcomes, nonetheless the principles are true and do explain how lack of pre-determined knowledge in a necessarily connected Universe within an Infinite Space allows chance and limited ‘free will’.

A simple example of this process can be found when considering a game commonly found in fairs, where there is a clown's head with open mouth that is rotating backwards and forwards, and you must drop a ball and try and get it to land in a certain slot. Depending on the time that you drop the ball ultimately determines where it will land. But all options are possible, and if we use this chance (due to lack of knowledge, as explained above) to determine when the ball is dropped, then we realise that we are using chance to decide on the future of the universe.

Thus Spinoza is both right and wrong when he writes;

There is no mind absolute or free will, but the mind is determined for willing this or that by a cause which is determined in its turn by another cause, and this one again by another, and so on to infinity. (Spinoza, 1673)

His error was to not understand how lack of pre-determined knowledge in an infinite though necessarily connected system causes chance and limited free will.

Karl Popper also intuitively understood that there had to be some 'balance' between complete determinism (clocks) and complete disorder and chance (clouds) when he wrote;

What we need for understanding rational human behaviour - and indeed, animal behaviour - is something intermediate in character between perfect chance and perfect determinism - something intermediate between perfect clouds and perfects clocks. (Popper, 1975)

He was absolutely right, for a 'Necessarily Connected', but infinite and ‘Non-Determined’ universe allows us to have limited free will (based upon this lack of pre-determined knowledge which gives rise to chance).

Philosophy Quotes on Free Will, Chance and Determinism

Why has the will an influence over the tongue and fingers, not over the heart or liver? (David Hume, 1737)

We learn the influence of our will from experience alone. And experience only teaches us, how one event constantly follows another; without instructing us in the secret connexion, which binds them together, and renders them inseparable. (David Hume, 1737)

The command of the mind over itself is limited, as well as its command over the body; and these limits are not known by reason, or any acquaintance with the nature of cause and effect, but only by experience and observation, as in all other natural events and in the operation of external objects. Our authority over our sentiments and passions is much weaker than that over our ideas; and even the latter authority is circumscribed within very narrow boundaries. (David Hume, 1737)

This self-command is very different at different times. A man in health possesses more of it than one languishing with sickness. We are more master of our thoughts in the morning than in the evening: Fasting, than after a full meal. (David Hume, 1737)

I shall say that I know with certainty that he is not to put his hand into the fire and hold it there till it be consumed: And this event, I think I can foretell with the same assurance, as that, if he throw himself out at the window, and meet with no obstruction, he will not remain a moment suspended in the air. (David Hume, 1737)

Necessity, according to the sense in which it is here taken, has never yet been rejected, nor can ever, I think, be rejected by any philosopher. It may only, perhaps, be pretended that the mind can perceive, in the operations of matter, some farther connexion between the cause and effect; and connexion that has not place in voluntary actions of intelligent beings. Now whether it be so or not, can only appear upon examination; and it is incumbent on these philosophers to make good their assertion, by defining or describing that necessity, and pointing it out to us in the operations of material causes.
It would seem, indeed, that men begin at the wrong end of this question concerning liberty and necessity, when they enter upon it by examining the faculties of the soul, the influence of the understanding, and the operations of the will. Let them first discuss a more simple question, namely, the operations of body and of brute unintelligent matter; and try whether they can there form any idea of causation and necessity, except that of a constant conjunction of objects, and subsequent inference of the mind from one to another. (David Hume, 1737)

By liberty, then, we can only mean a power of acting or not acting, according to the determinations of the will; that is, if we choose to remain at rest, we may; if we choose to move, we also may. (David Hume, 1737)

It is universally allowed that nothing exists without a cause of its existence, and that chance, when strictly examined, is a mere negative word, and means not any real power which has anywhere a being in nature. But it is pretended that some causes are necessary, some not necessary. (David Hume, 1737)

.. liberty, when opposed to necessity, not to constraint, is the same thing as chance; which is universally allowed to have no existence. (David Hume, 1737)

Necessity may be defined in two ways, conformably to the two definitions of cause, of which it makes an essential part. It consists either in the constant conjunction of like objects, or in the inference of the understanding from one object to another. (David Hume)

Actions are, by their very nature, temporary and perishing; and where they proceed not from some cause in the character and disposition of the person who performed them, they can neither redound to his honour, if good; nor infamy, if evil. (David Hume, 1737)

No contingency anywhere in the universe; no indifference; no liberty. While we act, we are, at the same time, acted upon. The ultimate Author of all our volitions is the Creator of the world, who first bestowed motion on this immense machine, and placed all beings in that particular position, whence every subsequent event, by an inevitable necessity, must result. Human actions, therefore, either can have no moral turpitude at all, as proceeding from so good a cause; or if they have any turpitude, they must involve our Creator in the same guilt, while he is acknowledged to be their ultimate cause and author. (David Hume, 1737)

Links: Free Will, Determinism, Chance, Causation, Necessary Connection

Cosmology -The supreme task of the physicist is to arrive at those universal elementary laws from which the cosmos can be built by pure deduction (Albert Einstein, 1954). The Wolff-Haselhurst Cosmology explains a Perpetual Finite Spherical Universe within an Infinite Eternal Space. The Spherical Standing waves determines the size of our finite spherical universe within an infinite Space (Matter is large not small, we only 'see' the Wave-Center / 'particle' effect which has greatly confused physics). Huygens' Principle explains how other matter's out waves combine to form our matter's spherical In-Waves, which then deduces both Mach's Principle and the redshift with distance (without assuming Doppler effect due to an expanding universe / Big Bang). This also explains how matter interacts with all other matter in the universe (why we can see stars) as matter is the size of the universe, but we only 'see' the high wave amplitude wave-centers / 'particles'.

Quantum Physics: Quantum Theory / Wave Mechanics - Historical Analysis and Solutions to Problems of Quantum Theory (Quantum Mechanics).On Planck, Einstein, Bohr, de Broglie, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Born, Feynman, Wolff. 'Experiments on interference made with particle rays have given brilliant proof that the wave character of the phenomena of motion as assumed by Quantum Theory do, really, correspond to the facts.' (Albert Einstein, 1940)

Hume, David - The Spherical Wave Structure of Matter in Space explains Hume's Problem of 'Necessary Connexion', Causation and Skeptic ism. 'Experience only teaches us, how one event constantly follows another; without instructing us in the secret connexion, which binds them together, and renders them inseparable. ... What that medium is, I must confess, passes my comprehension; and it is incumbent on those to produce it, who assert that it really exists ... I cannot imagine any such reasoning. But I keep my mind still open to instruction, if any one will vouchsafe to bestow it upon me.'

Schopenhauer, Arthur - Famous for Introducing Eastern Mysticism into Western Philosophy, being Pessimistic (Realistic) about the Nature of Man, and critiquing Kant's Metaphysics. Quotations from The World as Will and Representation. 'But life is short, and truth works far and lives long: let us speak the truth.'
Metaphysics: Problem of One and the Many - Brief History of Metaphysics and Solutions to the Fundamental Problems of Uniting the; One and the Many, Infinite and the Finite, Eternal and the Temporal, Absolute and Relative, Continuous and Discrete, Simple and Complex, Matter and Universe.

Metaphysics: Philosophy - Uniting Metaphysics and Philosophy by Solving Hume's Problem of Causation, Kant's Critical Idealism, Popper's Problem of Induction, Kuhn's Paradigm.
Newton, Isaac - Newton's Absolute Space is correct. His error was to further assume the existence of Matter 'particles', Time, and Forces, which are caused by the Spherical Wave Motions of Space.

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