The very moment the dethronement of free will makes it known that no
one henceforth will be held responsible for what he does because his will is
not free, and there will be no more criticism or blame regardless of his
actions, it becomes impossible for him to blame someone or something else
as the cause for what he knows he has done, because he also knows that no
one is blaming him. Man is prevented from excusing or justifying his own
actions which compels him completely beyond his control, but of his own
desire, not only to be absolutely honest with himself and others since there
is no way he can shift the blame, but to assume full responsibility for
everything he does.
How is it humanly possible for him to desire lying to
me or you when he is not being given the opportunity since his actions are
not being judged; and how is it possible for him to make this effort to shift
his responsibility when he knows that no one is holding him responsible?
In the world of free will man was able to absolve his conscience in a world
of right and wrong and get away with murder the very things our new
knowledge that man’s will is not free positively prevents. We can now see
how the confusion of words and the inability to perceive certain type
relations have compelled many thinkers who could not get beyond this
impasse to assume, as Durant did, that if man knew his will was not free it
would give him a perfect opportunity to take advantage of this knowledge.â€
“I am still not satisfied with the explanation. If it was not for our penal
code what is to prevent man from taking more easily what he wants when
the risk of retaliation is no more a condition to be considered? Furthermore,
what is to stop him from satisfying his desires to his heart’s content when
he knows there will be no consequences or explanations necessary? In the
previous example it is obvious that the boy who spilled the milk cannot
desire to shift the blame when he knows his parents are not going to
question what he did, but why should this prevent him from spilling the
milk every day if it gives him a certain satisfaction to watch it seep into the
rug? Besides, if the father just spent $1000 for carpeting, how is it humanly
possible for him to say absolutely nothing when the milk was not carelessly
but deliberately spilled?â€
“These are thoughtful questions but they are like asking if it is
mathematically impossible for man to do something what would you do if it
is done? How is it possible for B (the father) to retaliate when it is
impossible for B to be hurt? Contained in this question is an assumption
that deliberate and careless hurt will continue. As we proceed with this
investigation you will understand more clearly why the desire to hurt
another will be completely prevented by this natural law.â€
“Even though I cannot disagree with anything you said so far, I still
don’t understand how or why this should prevent man from stealing more
easily what he wants when the risk of retaliation is no more a condition to
be considered; and how is it humanly possible for those he steals from and
hurts in other ways to excuse his conduct?â€
“We are right back where we were before, the fiery dragon – but not for
long. Now tell me, would you agree that if I did something to hurt you, you
would be justified to retaliate?â€
“I certainly would be justified.â€
“And we also have agreed that this is the principle of ‘an eye for an
eye’, correct?.â€
“Correct.â€
“Which means that this principle, ‘an eye for an eye’, does not concern
itself with preventing the first blow from being struck but only with
justifying punishment or retaliation, is this also true?â€
“Yes it is.â€
“And the principle of ‘turning the other cheek’; doesn’t this concern
itself with preventing the second cheek from being struck, not the first
cheek?â€
“That is absolutely true.â€
“Therefore, our only concern is in preventing the desire to strike this
first blow, for then, if this can be accomplished, our problem is solved. If
the first cheek is not struck, there is no need to retaliate or turn the other
side of our face. Is this hard to understand?â€
“It’s very easy, in fact. I am not a college graduate, and I can even see
that relation.â€
“Let us further understand that in order for you to strike this first blow
of hurt, assuming that what is and what is not a hurt has already been
established (don’t jump to conclusions), you would have to be taking a
certain amount of risk, that is, you would be risking the possibility of
retaliation or punishment, is that correct?â€
“Not if I planned a perfect crime.â€
“The most you can do with your plans is reduce the element of risk, but
the fact that somebody was hurt by what you did does not take away his
desire to strike a blow of retaliation. He doesn’t know who to blame but if
he did, you could expect that he would desire to strike back.
Consequently,
his desire to retaliate ‘an eye for an eye’ is an undeniable condition of our
present world as is also your awareness that there is this element of risk
involved, however small. This means that whenever you do anything at all
that is risky you are prepared to pay a price for the satisfaction of certain
desires. You may risk going to jail, getting hanged or electrocuted, shot,
beaten up, losing your eye and tooth, or being criticized, reprimanded,
spanked, scolded, ostracized, or what have you, but this is the price you are
willing to risk or pay in order to satisfy certain desires. Can you disagree
with this?â€
“I still say, supposing there is no risk; supposing I was able to plan a
perfect crime and never get caught.â€
“I am not denying the possibility but you can never know for certain,
therefore, the element of risk must exist when you do anything that hurts
another.â€
“Then I agree.â€
“Now that we have a basic understanding as to why man’s will is not
free because it is his nature that he must always move in the direction of
greater satisfaction, as well as the undeniable fact that nothing can make
man do to another what he makes up his mind not to do - for over this he
has absolute control – let us observe what miracle happens when these two
laws are brought together to reveal a third law. Pay close attention because
I am about to slay the fiery dragon with my trusty sword which will reveal
my discovery, reconcile the two opposite principles ‘an eye for an eye’ and
‘turn the other cheek’, and open the door to this new world.â€