Is life a series of choices, or do we create our own destiny?

[Landon Caeli]

I was wondering if our life is an chain of decision-making events, from childhood on, in that our "personhood" or "self" is just a collection of millions or biillions of premade decisions based on these previous events - and we are merely the compilation of all those *choices*?

Or are we individual beings who possess a phenomenon known as "consciousness" - something not well understood in it's self? But none the less is us satisfying and orchestrating our own lives through ideas and activities that make us genuinely feel good?

 

[Landon Caeli]

Basically, am I an orchestrator? Or am I a biological computer?

 

[d taylor]

-​

It is timing whether good or bad timing being in the right place at the right time or vice versa.

 

[essentialsaltes]

I expect if and when we find out what consciousness is, it will look a great deal like your first choice.

 

[Carl Emerson]

The second option but with external influences...


What I don't get is why there is any debate when it is fundamental to prefer His will over our own as a true believer.

Surrender is not often spoken about but is essential.

Surrender of our will to His is key to walking in His ways.

From then we are slaves to righteousness and have given our 'free will' to Him.

So these days I pray "Lord take me by the ankles and walk me in Your best way - despite myself".

 

[Robban]

I was wondering if our life is an chain of decision-making events, from childhood on, in that our "personhood" or "self" is just a collection of millions or biillions of premade decisions based on these previous events - and we are merely the compilation of all those *choices*?

Or are we individual beings who possess a phenomenon known as "consciousness" - something not well understood in it's self? But none the less is us satisfying and orchestrating our own lives through ideas and activities that make us genuinely feel good?

All the bigges are already decided, for example, where, when and to whom you are born.

Our end we know not either,


O Lord , let me know my end and what is the measure of my days, that I may know when Iwill cease.
(Psalms 39:5)

David's wish was not granted, the reply he got was, "we do not give out classified information."


Nor either do we choose ever lasting life.

Genesis 3:22

So what choices do we make?

Get out of bed and make a living?


More or less, yes.

 

[Lost Witness]

Calvinists may be right.

 

[public hermit]

I was wondering if our life is an chain of decision-making events, from childhood on, in that our "personhood" or "self" is just a collection of millions or biillions of premade decisions based on these previous events - and we are merely the compilation of all those *choices*?

Or are we individual beings who possess a phenomenon known as "consciousness" - something not well understood in it's self? But none the less is us satisfying and orchestrating our own lives through ideas and activities that make us genuinely feel good?

I'm not sure these are incompatible. Perhaps both can be true: our personhood is a collection of choices made in light of previous choices and we make these choices as conscious agents who choose for the sake of various ends. One can say the later reduces to the former, but it's hard to deny our experience of consciously choosing for particular reasons that are our own.

What would be odd is if our choices had no connection whatsoever to previous choices, events, reasons, etc. Such choices would not be free; they would be arbitrary.

 

[Nithavela]

I think that most people make about 1-2 true choices per day, on average. The rest is either auto pilot or inconsequential.

 

[Larniavc]

I was wondering if our life is an chain of decision-making events, from childhood on, in that our "personhood" or "self" is just a collection of millions or biillions of premade decisions based on these previous events - and we are merely the compilation of all those *choices*?

Or are we individual beings who possess a phenomenon known as "consciousness" - something not well understood in it's self? But none the less is us satisfying and orchestrating our own lives through ideas and activities that make us genuinely feel good?

I think that we are semi free willed in the same way that our breathing is semi autonomous.

Most of the time we we automatically go through our day doing what we normally do without thinking (like when you get home from work and realise that you can’t remember driving home).

But then we can over ride that ‘auto pilot’ and anytime.

So I reckon we have free will but mostly we don’t use it, mostly.

 

[Landon Caeli]

I think that most people make about 1-2 true choices per day, on average. The rest is either auto pilot or inconsequential.

That's a good point. Maybe it's not just choices alone, but rather *all* that we take in, that creates the "self" or "person".

Or am I putting the carriage before the horse, in that, the person or "self", has some sort of say in, or about, what we take in, and how we process it as a feeling.

Is there anything I do, actually? Or is everything kind of automatic.

 

[Landon Caeli]

...Because of there is nothing that we actually do, outside of our programming, then we literally are biological computers.

(Our programming being all that we take in)

 

[Landon Caeli]

Calvinists may be right.

While predestination does align neatly with scientific, biological reductionism, maybe there's something else we're not seeing that makes the "self" an actual state of existence.

For example, the good "vibes"... Your first sip of coffee or tea, with the sound of birds chirping in the background. Or shopping at the mall, or going to a party with friends... Are these "happy vibes" little slices of heaven? What is this all based on?

 

[Nithavela]

That's a good point. Maybe it's not just choices alone, but rather *all* that we take in, that creates the "self" or "person".

Or am I putting the carriage before the horse, in that, the person or "self", has some sort of say in, or about, what we take in, and how we process it as a feeling.

Is there anything I do, actually? Or is everything kind of automatic.

I think that from a materialistic standpoint, nature hates superfluous things, so something as complex as a consciousness is unlikely to be just a redundant byproduct.

 

[Landon Caeli]

I think that from a materialistic standpoint, nature hates superfluous things, so something as complex as a consciousness is unlikely to be just a redundant byproduct.

Good point. We know light is both a wave and a particle. Neither one being more true than the other.

 

[Tranquil Bondservant]

I was wondering if our life is an chain of decision-making events, from childhood on, in that our "personhood" or "self" is just a collection of millions or biillions of premade decisions based on these previous events - and we are merely the compilation of all those *choices*?

Or are we individual beings who possess a phenomenon known as "consciousness" - something not well understood in it's self? But none the less is us satisfying and orchestrating our own lives through ideas and activities that make us genuinely feel good?

I believe we're beings who make real choices in the midst of; external circumstances hemming you in, providence, the factors you mentioned and many other things outside of our control. If I pray for something that involves my volition being diminished or suppressed (think praying for sanctification) and The Lord answers the prayer, did I not have real choice even though my will was, to my benefit, partly impaired or augmented by receiving the boon I asked for from The Lord? If I have a genetic predisposition to drinking alcohol combined with growing up with a family who treats the substance as water, would it still not be a real choice if I engage in the thing no matter the difficulty of that choice?

That is to say, creatures have volition. And sometimes we find ourselves in situations where our volition doesn't matter to the external force. You're never forced to capitulate to anything in this existence, even determinism. I avoid using the term 'free will' because I believe it's too open and without a foundation in Scripture. I believe we're told that if we are outside of Christ (or the oracles of God in the OT times) our will is bound to sin, however that does not negate the fact that to be outside of Christ is to choose sin. To have our bondage to sin loosed is to be free in Christ and live with Him and for Him. An ability that doesn't exist when you're outside of Him.