READ
Re-read the final slides on Cosmology and Ethics from the Epicureanism-and-Stoicism
THINK
Why are questions about the cosmos (or the order of nature) relevant to our thinking about persons, moral values, and the good life?
Is an overall cosmic order of things inconsistent with our conception of ourselves?
What about a completely deterministic order of things?
Is it possible to maintain a commitment to moral values if human actions are simply part of the order of things?
WRITE
A blog post responding to the final questions in the thought experiment about the book you find.
I feel as though nothing in life is predetermined but we hold our own destiny. For those of us who believe in a god or another higher being, they many times have the notion that their life is predetermined. However, Christians believe that God gave them free will and that’s what I believe. If you want to do something do not let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. If you have that attitude you will not be successful in life. As for that book, I would probably read it. I would want to know what life has in store for me. I would take it to heart and try to change my future. I’d be terrified to look at it originally but I would do it.
I believe that nothing is predetermined. At any given moment, I can change the path and trajectory that my life is on. That is why I would not want to read the book that has my life planned out. Why would I want to know what happens? Life is too much of a surprise, you never know whats gonna happen next or tomorrow or in a year. I dont want to know what I do on the next page. I personally would not read this book about me and my morals and values. I already know my morals and values, and surely do not need a book to validate my thoughts. But, if the book is empty for the next pages, then I would gladly be the one to write on those pages after my experiences. My life is what I make it out to be, and I wont let a silly book determine what I will do with the rest of my life.
If I were put into this situation, I would horribly disappointed. All of my morals and ideals are derived from the idea that my future is mine and I need to live life as a good person in order to be successful and a competent adult. Growing up as a Christian, I have always believed that God has a plan for me. However, I still believe that my path is my own and I can make my own decisions with a faith-based, God-fearing state of mind. I wouldn’t necessarily be disappointed to read the final pages of a book about my life. But I would certainly hope that all of the middle pages are blank, indicating that I have a God that lives me and respects me, and for that He has a great plan for me. But it is my job to determine the path I take to achieve the eternal plan that He has in store for me.
Assuming the next page is full this means that your life is either predetermined and have no free will or you do have free will but your actions have been predicted. If the page is empty that means that you are about to die or your next move has not been chosen yet and not existed so there is nothing to record.
If I was ever in the situation that the story presents I would probably be freaking out. If a book was written about my life before I was born I would think that life was pre-destined and some higher-power put the book their so I can see it. The question asked if I flipped to the next page and it was full what does that mean? This would mean the one’s destiny is pre-destined and can’t be changed. This reminds me of the story of Oedipus. Oedipus had a destiny to kill his father and marry his mother. His parents sent him away so this wouldn’t come true. He ended up killing his father and marrying his mother on accident. If I flipped the page and there was nothing there I would believe that one writes their own future, and one can do whatever they want. If I was in this situation I believe the real question would be: Do I turn the page to find out? The answer on the next pages can change the world as we know it, or we could just write the future.
I think it is important for many of us to realize we do not live a deterministic life. I think as humans, we like to feel a sense of control, especially regarding our futures. I think if our lives were predetermined, we would lose a lot of the willingness to behave with moral values because regardless of how we acted, we would know our fate was already written out for us. I believe that we act virtuous much of the time because we feel that it will pay off later. However, if we knew our life was already fixed, then I think we would lose our drive to act with such high moral standards. I feel that if I found this book and it had writing on the next page, I would lose a feeling of freedom and happiness associated with the excitement of being able to make the best out of my own opportunities.
First off reading a book like that in real life would be so creepy I’d just run away instead of turning the page, but assuming that the next page had nothing on it, that would mean that my life was not predetermined. By this one could assume that no one’s life is predetermined. This would mean that the future is left completely up to chance, and that no one nor any higher being knows how the future will pan out. It would be nice to know if the next page was blank because it is nice to think that I control my future and that anything I will do will be of my choosing. On the other hand, if the next page of the book was full, that would mean that a higher being or higher influence has everything in the future already planned out. Nothing would be left to chance in this world. Everyone’s lives would be predetermined. There would be no surprises in life. I would almost feel as if I was a slave to the world or a higher purpose. If I were able to read the rest of the pages after that, all of the excitement about not knowing the future would be taken out of my life. Thus, if the next page was blank it would mean that no one’s lives were predetermined, and if the next page was written on, it would mean that a higher being mapped out the rest of life for everyone and everything.