Freedom vs. Determinism

Part 1. Introduction

"The great paradox of determinism and free will, which has held the attention of the wisest of philosophers and psychologists for generations, can be phrased in more biological terms as follows: If our genes are inherited, and our environment is a train of physical events set in motion before we were born, how can there be a truly independent agent within the brain? The agent itself is created by the interaction of the genes and the environment. It would appear that our freedom is only a self delusion.”  
~ EO Wilson

“For you were called to freedom brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another.”
~ Galatians 5:13

We have here two quotes upon which lies the great debate of our time:  Is human Freedom possible or are we destined to fulfill a life over which we have no control?  Western Civilization was based upon the premise that human beings have at least the potential for Freedom or Free Will.  So embedded in our consciousness is this assumption of free will that we live our day-to-day lives “seemingly” making decisions about whether or not I hit the snooze button one more time, should I order the blond or the medium roast at Starbucks, what route I’m going to take to get to work to avoid traffic, whether to tell the boss the truth about why I’m late, or if I will insist on watching what I want on TV or relinquish the remote to my wife. Decisions, decisions and each one freighted with rights, wrongs, and moral obligations because something called the Natural Law is embedded in our conscience.  Not only are the daily lives of the inheritors of Western Civilization based upon the assumption of Freedom and the Natural Law, so are our interpersonal relationships and our societal institutions with its expectations, responsibilities, and obligations.  But what if EO Wilson is right?  What if Freedom is “only a self delusion?”  Then very simply, everything changes. 

Who is EO Wilson anyway and why should we care?  Professor Wilson is an American biologist, professor at Harvard University, and he possesses a very impressive curriculum vitae.  More to the point, however, he belongs to a growing number of academics, and influential members of our culture and political class who are known Materialists; in Wilson case he would be referred to as a Scientific Materialists.  So what is a Materialist?

Next: Materialism and Determinism