Determinism vs. Free will



Are we forsaken to be damned in life? Or are we given salvation? John Calvin founded the religion of Calvinism, which believes in predestination, the idea that our lives are already planned out, everything we do happens for a reason, and there is no way we can change our life. In Stephen Hawking’s piece titled “Is Everything Determined?” Hawking describes the complexity behind this idea, and how it relates to life today. Free will; as described by Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse Five, is the freedom to make choices in life that affect the outcome of your future. These contrary beliefs have caused great controversy among the world literature, and what people believe is true. Free will is a given to every human being; choices that one makes throughout his/her life influence the outcome of their future, determinism is just a belief, nothing more, people who believe in determinism make choices every day; making the whole belief complex and superficial.


Stephen Hawking says in “Is Everything Determined?”, “I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road." This statement is evidence that people who practice and believe in determinism still make life or death choices every day. It may be that they do not realize the choices they make, but then again, why would it matter if you looked or didn't look? If you were destined to live you would be fine, but if you were destined to die, then you would get hit. Hawking also says "if what we do is determined by some grand undefined theory, why would the theory determine that we draw the right conclusions about the universe rather than the wrong answer." This is pointing out the flaws in what we believe in, is our belief the right one? Hawking also says that "natural selection" is a big part in our belief. The explanation to why things are the way they are. In slaughterhouse 5, the tralfamadorians believe that everything is already determined; they say “we blow it up, experimenting with new fuels for our flying saucers. A tralfamadorian test pilot presses a starter button, and the whole universe is disappears." “He has ALWAYS pressed it, and he always WILL. We ALWAYS let him and we always WILL let him. The moment is STRUCTURED that way." The quotes from the tralfamadorians show how life is already planned out, nothing can change it. This view on life is a dull way of life, knowing that you are destined for either failure or success, taking away emotion towards everything you do.

Throughout my whole life, my mother has told me that the choices I make in my life will influence my future. I grew up believing in free will. Free will gives everyone a choice, or is a choice of how to live, and gives consequences on your future based on the choices you make throughout your life. One thing that my mother always told me was “will this benefit you in the future?” I always take that into account, with every important decision that I take. Throughout the story in Slaughterhouse Five, Billy pilgrim took orders and did actions that he did not choose, believing in determinism because of the influence the tralfamadorians had on him. Many characters in the book did not have free will, although free will was described by the tralfamadorians as something only earthlings believe that they possess. Edgar Derby however did practice free will. He stood up for himself and what he believed in; a choice that could have changed his future. In the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, the theory of opportunity is suggested and tested throughout the whole book. Gladwell says that the right opportunities are the only way to become successful in life. This belief has both components of determinism and free will. An example of the determinism factor is being born in the right era; being born at the right time and the right place will determine the success of your life. The free will aspect is the decisions that one makes to create the right opportunities, such as Bill Gates sneaking out to use the computer facility, enabling him to learn more and become an expert on computers. Believing in free will gives you free will; believing in determinism is free will because of the choice to live that lifestyle.

The relationship between determinism and free will can be interpreted as distant, or similar. The aspects of both include choices, whether it’s the choice in what to believe, or the choices made throughout one’s life. This comparison is open to any type of interpretation; making it a controversial topic. If our lives are determined, why do we make the choices we do? Is there an explanation behind all of these little decisions? Or do people choose to believe in what they do because they feel that it is necessary to create an explanation for all the problems in life? After all, determinism is a belief that one chooses to believe.