So What?

Why does it matter if your life is determined or if you have the freewill to decide your life? This question is something that I had really not thought of before entering this class. If you life is determined, you aren’t the one deciding what your next step is. But if your life is in your own hands, meaning you have free will, then you are the one deciding your next step. There is also the intermediate of determinism and free will, which is compatibilism. Through the many examples of determinism, free will, and compatibilism that have been evaluated in this class, I am closer to understanding them.

In the movie The Adjustment Bureau, David realized that his life was determined and he basically had no control of his future. This made him very angry and he then became even more determined to make his own decisions. This movie showed how frustrating it is when you know that you are not the one determining your life. I think that if David didn’t know and didn’t run into the Adjustment Bureau, he would not have any problem with how his life was going. For me, I do think that God has parts of my life determined, but since I do not know what is determined or what is my free will, I cannot be angry about it. If something bad happens in my life, it could have been from my poor choices or it could have been determined by God. If my life was adjusted from people in the Adjustment Bureau, then I think that would change the way I view my own life.

At the end of The Adjustment Bureau, David earns free will for him and Elise. David proved to the Adjustment Bureau that he truly can be the one in charge of his life and make his own decisions. For me, free will does exist, but not with every single decision in your life.

The other fictional source used to evaluate determinism and freewill was The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. In this novel a young girl got off the hiking path and had a creature follow her throughout the woods. She used her hiking skills and her imagination to continue fighting to find a way out of the woods. In this story Trisha used her free will to keep fighting and finding things that helped her survive. She also was forced in a certain way through the woods because of the creature following her, but it was unknown to her that this was happening. The takeaway from this story is that freewill and determinism are intertwined into compatibilism.

After going through these main examples of determinism and free will, I still believe that compatibilism is how my life is governed. God has a plan for my life, but I can make some of my own choices along the way. But why is this important? Personally, I find it very reassuring to know that God has a plan for my life. I think to understand compatibilism and how it’s a part of my life is important. It allows me to know that I am not just going about life aimlessly doing things. It is very comforting to know that God has a plan for me yet he allows me to make decisions along the way. Although, I still have so much more to learn about this and how it’s a part of my life, I am beginning to understand its importance.