I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews believe in free will. They believe that man shapes his own life. I reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew… I believe with Schopenhauer: We can do what we wish, but we can only wish what we must.
Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act is if freedom of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a responsible being.
"I claim credit for nothing. Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as for the star. Human being, vegetables or cosmic dust, we all dance to an invisible tune, intoned in the distance by a mysterious player.
--Albert Einstein, from an interview, in 1929, with George Sylvester Viereck.
I share Albert Einstein's understandings that each of us must take responsibility for our decisions, with my experience informing me that I am being counselled by a reality beyond my understanding. The mechanics of the source of that wise counselling entering my conscious understandings does not interest me.
The Father's relationship with me, and every human person matters more than any attempt to enter into an academic debate on the reality of the Divine Mystery.
“Learned arguments do not make a man holy and righteous, whereas a good life makes him dear to God.” ― Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
I find your post rather confusing, Alex. You state, “I do not believe in free will”, but later claim, “each of us must take responsibility for our decisions”. I don’t know how you do that unless you are free to take that responsibility.
In any case, “I do not believe in free will” runs counter to Catholic doctrine. The Catechism of the Catholic Church in,
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST SECTION ONE MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT CHAPTER ONE THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON Article 3 MAN'S FREEDOM I. Freedom and Responsibility
states:
1731 Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude. 1732 As long as freedom has not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in perfection or of failing and sinning. This freedom characterizes properly human acts. It is the basis of praise or blame, merit or reproach.
I should also have pointed out that learning is in no way at odds with holiness and righteousness. Thomas à Kempis himself was learned as well as holy and righteous.
Specifically in regard to free will, in Chapter XII, he writes:
”5. If thou carry the cross willingly, it will carry thee …If thou carry it unwillingly, thou makest it a burden to thee …”
Surely here he was referring to a strong belief in the Catholic doctrine of Free Will.
Re: In addition . . .
Posted by Alex Caughey on March 9, 2023, 8:12 pm, in reply to "In addition . . ."
John/Alex
I'll quote my words:
I share Albert Einstein's understandings that each of us must take responsibility for our decisions, with my experience informing me that I am being counselled by a reality beyond my understanding. The mechanics of the source of that wise counselling entering my conscious understandings does not interest me.
That The Father counsels us to follow His advice evidences our choice to embrace Our Father's guidance, or reject it. In this respect free will is the awareness that we are granted the freedom to choose.