Diana.nu

In an entry about a boolean universe, I talked about feeling alone being an atheist who does not believe in free will. Turns out that my Google search was actually fail, because I did not know what to Google. I have found the word I have been searching for.

I really want to get into writing fiction. (Wait, this is important.) So, I’m writing a story about, in really broad terms, the way that people kick down after they have been kicked down. Microsoft Word asked me to name my file, and I thought, “Oh, I need a name for this story.”

Back to Google. I think that the name should have something about “blame” in it. But “blame” doesn’t sound right. So I Google “blame” to get a good definition of it that I can build off of. I find the Wikipedia article about blame. I am in the middle of the page when I find a cool phrase. “Praise, Blame, and the Free will debate.”

OH. MY. GOD. Debate over free will? Yes, please. The most beautiful word pops out: “determinism.”

It’s exactly what I’ve been trying to say. Now it seems obvious.

Quotes about determinism

“You will say that I feel free. This is an illusion, which may be compared to that of the fly in the fable, who, upon the pole of a heavy carriage, applauded himself for directing its course. Man, who thinks himself free, is a fly who imagines he has power to move the universe, while he is himself unknowingly carried along by it.” –Baron d’Hobach

“We are enslaved by selfish molecules. They are in you and me; they created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence. They go by the name of genes, and we are their survival machines.” –Richard Dawkins

“Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.” –Charles Darwin

I am comforted.

I feel alone in believing

• Absolutes
• Very limited free will
• Human inferiority (somewhat)

and also believing in no god. Here’s my reasoning:

• The universe runs us; we do not run the universe. The universe does not care about maybes.
• We were programmed to react to pain and pleasure. All (most? Where would compassion fall under? Empathy of pain?) of our reactions are based on this. All animals’ reactions are based on this. We are not above other animals because we have free will. We have as much instinct as them, no more, no less.
• We are not that special. I admit, I am pretty cool with my brain that comprehend things other animals can’t. But! My brain is not infinite. There are things that I will never be able to comprehend. I am limited just like other animals. Maybe more so in some respects.

Google isn’t turning up anything that is atheist and subscribes to any of those ideas. Atheists, according to my very long, albeit single, Google search, seem to think they are very independent of nature, can do whatever they want, and are very special indeed.

My point:

There have got to be some huge and obvious reasons I feel alone in this. What are the refutations? Some I can see:

• If the universe never cared about maybes, how do I explain why I had to learn probability in math class? If I say probability is not real, am I saying there is such a thing as sure fate?
• Humans face choices.
• If we’re not special, what is?

I don’t know. So, why do I feel alone? What’s the huge and obvious reason? Please tell me you have it.