In the beginning of creation when man was in the early stages of
development, he could have destroyed himself were there no forces to
control his nature. Religion came to the rescue by helping explain the
reason for such evil in the world. It gave those who had faith a sense of
comfort, hope, and the fortitude to go on living. In spite of everything, it
was a bright light in the story of civilization. However, in order to reach
this stage of development so God could reveal Himself to all mankind by
performing this deliverance from evil, it was absolutely necessary to get
man to believe his will was free, and he believed in this theory consciously
or unconsciously. It became a dogma, a dogmatic doctrine of all religion,
was the cornerstone of all civilization, and the only reason man was able to
develop.
The belief in free will was compelled to come about as a corollary
of evil for not only was it impossible to hold God responsible for man’s
deliberate crimes, but primarily because it was impossible for man to solve
his problems without blame and punishment which required the justification
of this belief in order to absolve his conscience. Therefore, it was assumed
that man did not have to do what he did because he was endowed with a
special faculty which allowed him to choose between good and evil. In
other words, if you were called upon to pass judgment on someone by
sentencing him to death, could you do it if you knew his will was not free?
To punish him in any way you would have to believe that he was free to
choose another alternative than the one for which he was being judged; that
he was not compelled by laws over which he had no control. Man was
given no choice but to think this way and that is why our civilization
developed the principle of an ‘eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ and
why my discovery was never found. No one could ever get beyond this
point because if man’s will is not free it becomes absolutely impossible to
hold him responsible for anything he does. Well, is it any wonder the
solution was never found if it lies beyond this point? How is it possible not
to blame people for committing murder, rape, for stealing and the wholesale
slaughter of millions?
Does this mean that we are supposed to condone
these evils, and wouldn’t man become even less responsible if there were no
laws of punishment to control his nature? Doesn’t our history show that if
something is desired badly enough he will go to any lengths to satisfy
himself, even pounce down on other nations with talons or tons of steel?
What is it that prevents the poor from walking into stores and taking what
they need if not the fear of punishment? The belief that will is not free
strikes at the very heart of our present civilization. Right at this point lies
the crux of a problem so difficult of solution that it has kept free will in
power since time immemorial. Although free will has had a very long reign
in the history of civilization, it is now time to put it to rest, once and
for all, by first demonstrating that this theory can never be proven true. A
friend shared a story with me to show you how difficult it is to get through
this established dogma.
“The other day when I was in Temple a rabbi, during the course of his
sermon, made it very clear that man has free will. Professors, doctors,
lawyers, and just about everybody I know, agree that man’s will is free. If
this is a theory you would never know it by talking to them. Well, is it a
theory, or is this established knowledge?â€
“Of course it is a theory,†I answered; “otherwise there would be no
believers in determinism. Is it possible for a person to believe that the earth
is flat now that we have mathematical proof of its circular shape? The only
reason we still have opinions on both sides of this subject is because we
don’t know for a mathematical fact whether the will of man is or is not
free.â€
“But these theologians don’t agree with you; they say that man’s will is
definitely free. Look, here comes a rabbi; ask him if man’s will is free just
for the heck of it, and you will see for yourself how dogmatic he responds.â€
“Rabbi, we have been discussing a subject and would appreciate your
opinion. Is it true, false, or just a theory that man’s will is free?â€
“It is absolutely true that man’s will is free because nothing compels an
individual to choose evil instead of good; he prefers this only because he
wants to partake of this evil, not because something is forcing him.â€
“Do you mean, Rabbi, that every person has two or more alternatives
when making a choice?â€
“Absolutely; that bank robber last week didn’t have to rob the bank, he
wanted to do it.â€
“But assuming that what you say is true, how is it possible to prove that
which cannot be proven? Let me illustrate what I mean.â€
“Is it possible for me to do what has already been done?â€
“Naturally it is impossible for me to do what has already been done,
because I have already done it.â€
“This is a mathematical or undeniable relation and is equivalent to
asking is it possible for anyone not to understand four as an answer to two
plus two. Now if what has been done was the choosing of B instead of A,
is it possible not to choose B which has already been chosen?â€
“It is impossible, naturally.â€
“Since it is absolutely impossible (this is the reasoning of mathematics,
not logic, which gives rise to opinions) not to choose B instead of A once B
is selected, how is it possible to choose A in this comparison of possibilities
when in order to make this choice you must not choose B, which has
already been chosen?â€
“Again I must admit it is something impossible to do.â€
“Yet free will, in order to be proven true, must do just that – the
impossible. It must go back, reverse the order of time, undo what has
already been done, and then show that A – with the conditions being
exactly the same – could have been chosen instead of B. Since it is utterly
impossible to reverse the order of time, which is absolutely necessary for
mathematical proof, free will must always remain a theory. The most you
can say is that you believe the bank robber had a choice, but there is
absolutely no way this can be proven.â€
“I may be unable to prove that he was not compelled to rob that bank
and kill the teller, but it is my opinion that he didn’t have to do what he
did.â€
“I’m not in the mood to argue that point, but at least we have arrived at a
bit of knowledge that is absolutely undeniable for we have just learned that
it is mathematically impossible for any person to prove, beyond a shadow of
doubt, that the will of man is free, yet a moment ago you made the dogmatic
statement that man’s will is definitely free.â€
“My apology, dear sir; what I meant to say was that it is the consensus
of opinion that the will of man is free.â€
“Thank you, Rabbi, and now one other question and I will let you go. If
it is mathematically impossible to prove the will of man free, is it possible
to prove determinism, as the opposite of free will, false?â€
“Yes, it is possible.â€
“No, Rabbi, it is not possible.â€
“That my friend is your opinion, not mine.â€
“Let me show you it is not an opinion. If you could prove that
determinism is false, wouldn’t this prove free will, which is the opposite of
determinism, true? And didn’t we just prove that it is mathematically
impossible to prove free will true, which means that it is absolutely
impossible to prove determinism false?â€
“I see what you mean and again I apologize for thinking this was a
matter of opinion.
“This means that we have arrived at another bit of mathematical
knowledge and that is – although we can never prove free will true or
determinism false, there still exists a possibility of proving determinism
true, or free will false.
Now tell me, Rabbi, supposing your belief in free
will absolutely prevents the discovery of knowledge that, when released,
can remove the very things you would like to rid the world of, things you
preach against, such as war, crime, sin, hate, discrimination, etc., what
would you say then?â€
“If this is true and you can prove it, all I can say is that God’s ways are
mysterious and surpass my understanding. I enjoyed talking with you son,
and perhaps I shall live to see the day when all evil will be driven from our
lives.â€
“Even if you don’t live to see it, please rest assured the day is not far
away and that it must come about the very moment certain facts pertaining
to the nature of man are brought to light, because it is God’s will.â€
“I must leave now but thank you for sharing your insights with me.â€