Determinism and Free Will
One of the most vexing and unresolved philosophical questions is whether we are free to chose between alternatives (free will) or whether our choices are pre-determined (determinism). We will examine that question from the perspectives of science (broadly speaking) and theology, specifically the theology of the Baha’i Faith.
There are many varieties of determinism, but generally speaking, “Determinism is the metaphysical view that all events within the universe can occur only in one possible way.” 1 The three main schools are hard determinism, soft determinism (compatibilitism), and metaphysical libertarianism (anti-determinism, voluntarism).
Hard Determinism
Hard determinism posits that free will does not exist because all actions are determined by prior causes. If that is the case, my behavior is determined by causes external to me, which is to say that I have no choices in what I do or don’t do. We may think that we are making choices, but that is an illusion. Our actions are predetermined, therefore “…the hard determinist also rejects ethics. The key to this argument rests on the idea that holding a person morally responsible requires them to make a choice between two, or more, truly possible alternatives. If choice is indeed impossible, then it would be incorrect to hold anyone morally responsible for their actions. If this argument holds, hard determinists are restricted to moral nihilism.” 2
Soft Determinism
I must confess that I am rather baffled by the claims of soft determinism, which is not to say that I agree or disagree, but rather that I don’t understand the claim. The best explanation that I’ve found is that
Soft determinism, also known as compatibilism, is the belief that determinism is compatible with free will and moral responsibility. In other words, soft determinism states that even though all events in the world are predetermined by what came before them, it is still possible for people to have free will and thus be morally responsible for their actions…. Soft determinists believe that free will is possible in a deterministic universe, even when everything is predetermined. They believe that as long as no external forces force someone to make a certain choice, the person has made a free choice. 3
Metaphysical Libertarianism
Metaphysical Libertarianism comes in a variety of forms, but the basic idea is that it is “…the philosophical view that free will exists, that it is incompatible with [hard] determinism, and therefore that determinism is false…. [It] is an incompatibilist position which argues that free will is logically incompatible with a deterministic universe. Libertarianism states that since agents have free will, [hard] determinism must be false.” 4 The article goes on to state that
Accounts of libertarianism subdivide into non-physical theories and physical or naturalistic theories. Non-physical theories hold that the events in the brain that lead to the performance of actions do not have an entirely physical explanation, and consequently the world is not closed under physics. Such interactionist dualists believe that some non-physical mind, will, or soul overrides physical causality.” 5
The Baha’i Position on Free Will
When asked whether “…man [is] free and unconstrained in all his actions, or is he compelled and constrained?”, `Abdu-l Baha replied,
Certain matters are subject to the free will of man, such as acting with justice and fairness, or injustice and iniquity—in other words, the choice of good or evil actions. It is clear and evident that the will of man figures greatly in these actions. But there are certain matters where man is forced and compelled, such as sleep, death, sickness, failing powers, misfortune, and material loss: These are not subject to the will of man and he is not accountable for them, for he is compelled to endure them. But he is free in the choice of good and evil actions, and it is of his own accord that he performs them. 6
`Abdu’-l Baha continues,
…all the doings of man are sustained by the power of divine assistance, but the choice of good or evil belongs to him alone…. Our meaning is that the choice of good and evil belongs to man, but that under all circumstances he is dependent upon the life-sustaining assistance of Divine Providence. The sovereignty of God is great indeed, and all are held captive in the grasp of His power. The servant can do nothing of his own will alone: God is almighty and all-powerful and bestows His assistance upon all creation. 7
Having established that, according to the Baha’i Faith, human beings have free will (actually, “free choice” might be more accurate), we need to ask whether the physical world is indeed deterministic, and if so, how is that compatible with the soul being free. In order to answer those questions, an understanding of the Baha’i notion of levels of spirit is needed. Turning once again to `Abdu’l-Baha, we learn that creation is composed of different levels of spirit which have different attributes:
In the world of existence—that which is comprehensible—there are stages of mortality: the first stage is the mineral world, next is the vegetable world. In the latter world the mineral doth exist but with a distinctive feature which is the vegetable characteristic. Likewise in the animal world, the mineral and vegetable characteristics are present and in addition the characteristics of the animal world are to be found, which are the faculties of hearing and of sight. In the human world the characteristics of the mineral, vegetable and animal worlds are found and in addition that of the human kind, namely the intellectual characteristic, which discovereth the realities of things and comprehendeth universal principles. 8
The world of nature is deterministic: `Abdu’l-Baha explains that “…nature is subject to a sound organization, to inviolable laws, to a perfect order, and to a consummate design, from which it never departs. …all are subject to one universal law from which they never depart.” 9 Given that the bodies of humans belong to the animal kingdom, which is part of nature, it follows that our bodies are subject to the laws of nature. However, “…It is through the power of the soul that the mind comprehendeth, imagineth and exerteth its influence, whilst the soul is a power that is free. The mind comprehendeth the abstract by the aid of the concrete, but the soul hath limitless manifestations of its own. The mind is circumscribed, the soul limitless.” 10
Human beings then, are composed of two levels of spirit, the animal spirit and the human spirit, also known as the rational soul. The animal spirit, which is our physical bodies, is under the control of the laws of nature. However, the human spirit is free; a person can chose to do, or not to do, something, subject to the limitations of the body. The main function of that freedom is to allow us to chose our own spiritual destiny, to make moral choices between good and evil, and whether to believe in God. It should be kept in mind, however, that while we are free to chose, we are not free from the consequences of our choices. “All things proceed from God and unto Him they return. He is the source of all things and in Him all things are ended.” 11 “Ye shall, most certainly, return to God, and shall be called to account for your doings in the presence of Him Who shall gather together the entire creation. 12 Thus the choices that we make, while free, nevertheless have consequences, both in this world and in the next.
It is clear and evident that all men shall, after their physical death, estimate the worth of their deeds, and realize all that their hands have wrought. I swear by the Daystar that shineth above the horizon of Divine power! They that are the followers of the one true God shall, the moment they depart out of this life, experience such joy and gladness as would be impossible to describe, while they that live in error shall be seized with such fear and trembling, and shall be filled with such consternation, as nothing can exceed. 13
In the context of the three general positions of determinism mentioned above, the Baha’i Faith seems to endorse the non-physical school of metaphysical libertarianism, also known as interactionalist dualism. It affirms that the soul is a transcendent entity, that it comes from God and will return to Him, and rejects material explanations for its existence. It also affirms that “some non-physical mind, will, or soul overrides physical causality.” It is also a refutation of epiphenomenolism (see the Definitions section of this website).
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/determinism ↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_determinism ↩︎
- https://www.simplypsychology.org/soft-determinism.html ↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism_(metaphysics) ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Bahá’í Sacred Writings, www.bahai.org/r/590222940 ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, www.bahai.org/r/694372778 ↩︎
- Some Answered Questions, www.bahai.org/r/854608442 ↩︎
- `Abdu’l-Baha, Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel, www.bahai.org/r/638170569 ↩︎
- Baha’u’llah,The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, www.bahai.org/r/016988763 ↩︎
- Baha’u’llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, www.bahai.org/r/779109566 ↩︎
- Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, www.bahai.org/r/547476064 ↩︎