2 posts tagged “determinism”

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Solomon on the human condition

Jun 13, 2009
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In my earlier study, I argued that I did not see any conflict (much less a “paradox”) between Nietzsche’s fatalistic and self-making themes but rather an excellent example of his “perspectivism.” Fatalism and self-making represent two complementary perspectives on ourselves and on human life. On the one hand, there is our familiar view of ourselves as (more or less) autonomous beings, deliberating, making choices, acting on our desires, sometimes reflecting on and weighing our desires, sometimes conscientiously denying our desires (or refusing to be motivated by them). It is from this perspective that we normally hold people (and ourselves) responsible for their (our) actions and declare them (and ourselves) to be the “authors” of their (our) actions. On the other hand, we cannot but recognize that we are all “thrown into” our circumstances, born with (or without) certain talents and abilities to varying degrees and with or without dispositions to certain physical liabilities and limitations. We are all products (“victims” some would say) of our upbringing, our families, our culture. Even without bringing in such spooky words as “fatalism,” we recognize in ourselves and in others the heavy baggage of our backgrounds and the fact that our choices and our socalled autonomy are both quite limited. We take up one or the other of these perspectives, often sequentially, even simultaneously, but I do not see this as a problem or a “paradox.” It is rather just “the human condition.” We see ourselves as both free and constrained, which is not quite (yet) to say “fated.”
-Robert Solomon

Determinism

Jun 10, 2009
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What does your conscience say? -- You shall become the person you are.

-Nietzsche

I've always been concerned with the person I am, the person I could be, and the person I should be. A big part of all of our lives is determining just that: who we are, who we could be, and who we should be. Obviously, there is no "right" (in the absolute sense of the term) answer to any of these distinctions; nevertheless, there is a sense in which we are all responsible for the person we are and the person we could be. The person we should be is, well, us, the individual "You." This is what Nietzsche says at least. But what determines you? Who are you? We usually think that we have the free will to choose who we are, who we are going to be; but do we really have this "free" will?

There is a level of biological determinism that can't be refuted. So much of who one is is determined by one's biology. Let's go with an obvious example (I stole it from Mithrandir): one's sexuality. I didn't choose to be straight, did I? I'm genetically predisposed to be attracted to females. So much for choosing my sexuality. Consider one's physical state. The children who have inherited genetic disorders and handicaps didn't choose to be this way. If given the option, I'm pretty sure they would've picked a different life. What about one's talents and abilities? Most of those are innate. And we can't forget the impact of one's culture, environment, parents, and friends on who one is. But I think you get the point: we don't freely choose who we are as much as we would like to think. Perhaps we don't get to choose who we are at all. As Mithrandir pointed out in this blog post, the existentialist's maxim --"existence precedes essence"-- becomes invalid in light of determinism. It would seem that one's essence is already determined.

Nietzsche subscribed to a level of determinism, but at the same time believed that we create ourselves (something I'll talk about in a later blog post). There is a sense of this that permeates throughout his works: the strong were born strong, and the weak were born weak. It's almost as if some of us are predisposed to lean towards religion or what have you. Which leads me to this: For those of us who are nonbelievers, did we choose not to believe? It's an interesting question. I'd like to think I did, but I'm not sure.

My mom tells this story about me that I think may illustrate the "interesting" bit of this question. One day, when I was very young, my mom was trying to teach me the color of the apple in her hand, which was red. Every time she would say "red", I would say "blue." So, maybe I was just a dumb baby and was saying the wrong word when I actually meant the color red, but I'm not so sure now. Maybe my natural abilities/talents consist of insubordination and skepticism. I know one of my talents now is being skeptical. Perhaps I was born with this talent? I've always been skeptical of religion, even when I was a "Christian." Maybe it was only a matter of time before I stopped believing. Maybe who I am is a nonbeliever. I don't know.

What I do know is that there is a level of each individual that has been defined for he or she against his or her "free" will. Can you change this fundamental "you?" I don't know, though I'd like to think so. What one does have the free will to do, however, is to choose to create one's self in line with one's talents and abilities.