Tough Road (Part 2)

Assuming you read Part 1: http://theepitomeofmediocrity.blogspot.com/2010/06/tough-road-part-1.html


I'm now faced with the difficult task of showing how a predetermined moral character can coexist with free will.

So first, I have to put the "will" into perspective. It seems to be that (at a basic level) all of our actions are driven by 1 of 2 forces - Will or Instinct. So let's get a better understanding of the two.

Instinct. Many associate this with the more subconscious (almost animalistic) behaviors - survival instinct, sex drive, hunger, etc.... However, I give "instinct" far more credit. Acting in accordance with ones own natural proclivities. Example - the decision to walk into a store and purchase an item instead of stealing the item is (for most) not an exercise of the will; it is purely instinctual behavior.

Will. I describe will power to be those actions we commit which are contrary to our instinctual behavior. This is an important distinction (for me at least). Will is not the drive to act; it is the drive/ability to act against our instinct.

I will provide a personal example. I do not drink alcohol. This is not a recent decision; I have been this way since I was in high school. For years I have defended this in numerous ways... I've used logic at times to suggest that I do not want to "make the mistakes of others". Or I have have considered that I simply have a stronger will power than others to resist (especially peer pressure). But looking back - I realize that the inclination was never really there to begin with. In short - it has been no real exertion of will to fight the temptation to drink, because there was no temptation to begin with. I've rationalized it in the past - but the reality is I am simply genetically predisposed to "not drink". And in fact, it would require more will power for me to drink than not.

So the question now is... What drives us to employ our will, why do we not act on instinct alone - all the time? The answer is (in part) Newton's First Law of Motion - an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless an external force is applied. I say "in part" because I do not believe it is external forces alone. After all, other living creatures continue to act according to instinct, even when faced with external forces; the actual behavior may be different but it is still driven by instinct none-the-less. So what additional variable causes humans to employ their "will"? Naturally - I believe it is our capacity for reason - that aspect of human nature which allows (even compels) us to question and rationalize those external forces.

When faced with any scenario, regardless how important or trivial, we are inclined to act according to our predetermined instinct, unless our interpretation, or rationalization, of external forces compel us to employ some measure of will either contrary or beyond our natural instinct.

Then again, I could be completely wrong....