All of our actions are our own. However, our actions are subject to our moral judgement and this judgement is affected by hundreds of characteristics of society. Your education, your upbringing, the social community you are born into, your religious upbringing and, to a certain extent, your genetics all control your judgement.
Whether or not 'God' exists, or whether or not there is a 'higher power', I believe it is counter-productive to intelligence to believe that this entity has a direct control in your life, the actions you make and the choices you choose.
Religion is a tool which has been rendered obsolete by modern scientific practice and thought, yet it is not entirely redundant because it plays a crucial role in the social characteristics of all communities - and as such, plays an indirect role in the actions you take (see first paragraph on moral judgement).
The idea of 'free will' operates on two levels, that of the community and that of the individual. Being an individual, we all have complete 'free will' over our actions, yet, together we make a community. And the community has a collective legislation and guide on morality issues and in turn conflicts with individual choice.
For a primitive example: I can go take my kitchen knife right now and plunge it into the heart of the next pedestrian I see. But, thankfully because of society and modern law and my own moral compass - I know that my actions will have repercussions on hundreds of level within the community (social, family, friends, community, legal, justice, jail, permanent criminal record etc).
This final point makes you wonder what 'life' for the 'individual' was like hundreds, if not thousands of years ago without such a well developed social-morality-justice complex.
- Example 1: Stone-age, iron-age, bronze-age, neolithic, 'primitive' example:
- Ugg the Barbarian steals Morna the Vikings' fish.
- Morna proceeds to burn, pillage and rape Uggs cave-village.
- Example 2: 21st Century, modern, complex example:
- My flatmate drinks the last bit of milk we had in our fridge.
- I do not burn, rape and pillage my flatmates bedroom.
Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Nov 9 2010, 2:40 pm by Cardinal.
None.