Sunday, December 12, 2010

God vs Determinism

Math is a great subject, despite what you learn in school. Math forms the basis for understanding our universe. Physics has become what it is today because of math. The seemingly infinite number of formulas work because the universe is mathematical in nature. For every set of inputs, you can apply a formula and determine the outputs. As long as you do the math right, you'll never be wrong. With math you can predict the future.

The property of our universe that makes this so is called determinism. Determinism allows us to perform this magic and understand our world. In a non-deterministic universe, we wouldn't be able to learn much, if anything, about it. The events that took place around us would be random and undefinable. Science would no longer be viable. Magic might, but even it may be impossible to guarantee. So, we can be thankful that we have been given a deterministic universe.

It goes even deeper than physics. If we take physics and apply it narrowly enough, we can get even more powerful results, albeit more difficult to obtain. Chemistry is an example of this. We know how molecules interact and, with enough math and physics, we can predict how reactions occur. We can determine how long something will take to burn or decay. And the rabbit hole doesn't end here.

Within the human body we find the same results. Hormones and cells operate in wholly predictable ways. Unfortunately, when we get this far down the chain of science, it becomes more difficult than we can perform in real time. With chemistry and a powerful enough computer, we could possibly predict a reaction as fast as it could occur. In biology, we're not so lucky. Here, not only do we have to use many of the rules of chemistry, but we have a whole set of new rules that are specific to biology. There's just too much work. We can't do it fast enough, but we know we can do it.

The final link in this chain is the human brain. We know the brain is no exception. It's made of matter. It contains chemicals and cells. Everything about it is predictable. Specific paths of neurons are mapped out based on our personal preferences and experiences. Those paths detail how we react to our environment and what we know. They determine how and when we release hormones and if we suppress their effects.

The worst thing about this conclusion, however, is that it leaves no room for free will. You may feel like you have a choice about something, but the truth is that your decision is already predetermined. The decision making part of your brain is already mapped out and you're just following the trail to the conclusion. You are just a bystander to your own existence.

As defined above, we also have no room for a god in our universe. At least, not a god that encourages free will, as most conventional religions believe in. It's ironic then that belief in a god has become so popular in our civilization given that one cannot exist. Belief in a god, however, was a mathematical certainty given that our universe is deterministic. It's a cruel joke with no one to play it.

You can't blame people who believe in god(s) for their beliefs, however, as they had no choice in the matter. They are just playing their part in the grand formula. Ironically, you have no more control over whether you choose to blame them or not than you do over their beliefs.

This doesn't just apply to beliefs, however, but to actions, as well. Someone who saves the life of a child, for example, is no more responsible for their actions than someone who murders one. They act solely on their environment as modified by the state of their mind. The state of their mind is decided by the series of events they've experienced as modified by the genetics they were given. The chain of responsibility goes all the way back to the beginning of time. From there, the outcome of every action and event in the universe is already predetermined. So, logically, you can't praise the martyr anymore than you can blame the murderer. Doing so makes no more sense than believing in a god.

Now, there are some holes in the argument above you may have already caught. Can you imagine a universe where it's not logical to thank someone for saving your life? How about one where it's not logical to be angry at someone who tries to kill you? You can't. If you think you can, I dare you to try to live your life that way. The very definition of the argument states that it's physically impossible to choose to believe. If you actually have a choice in the matter, than the argument is obviously false. If it's true, then you don't have a choice about whether you believe it or not.

But, if choice does exist, then our universe cannot be purely deterministic. “Choice” can't be predicted. So, at some point, non-determinism showed up in our deterministic universe. But how? By definition, a deterministic universe couldn't spawn a non-deterministic property. That would defy the laws of determinism. Even if it could, why would choice be the only one? So, we're left with a paradox. Our universe is deterministic. We know this because science works and it works consistently. Free will, which defies the laws of determinism, also exists. We know this because we make choices everyday. We're left with a universe that forbids its own existence.

Our universe obviously does exist. So, there must be something that balances these two contradictory properties. There has to be another element to the equation. Given that the universe can't supply this element, it must be an outside influence: an influence powerful enough to break the laws of our universe. In order for our universe to exist the way it does, there must be a deity (or "something" that fits most conventional definitions of a deity) that permits it to do so.

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