Has anybody else picked this up yet? It’s really done a number on me. Prior to reading it I would consider myself a Stoic. One of my central philosophies being that “The choices I make define who I am”.
So obviously being told that my choices were never even mine to begin with was kind of a slap in the face.
It rings true though. The choices we make at any given time are a result of our genetics, or environment, the media we’ve consumed, how tired we are…
I’m not a stranger to the concept of Ego death but it had been a hot minute since I thought about it.
I haven’t read any but reviews, but already strongly disagree. Of course our choices are based on everything that happens in our life (and genetics, etc.). Isn’t that a given? Someone born in poverty doesn’t have the same choices someone born into wealth does. Someone in Nepal will have vastly different choices than someone in Canada, or Mexico, or South Africa. It’s the everyday, minute choices we make in those circumscribed conditions that are the basis of free will. Do we go left or right? If we’re fundamentally not a good person but choose to do good every single time the opportunity presents itself, are we not better than someone with the ability to do good always who does it only sometimes? If I choose black instead of pink, even if that’s because I was always dressed in pastels as a child, it’s still a choice. I’ve thought about why it matters that I’m making this choice as an adult even if I have the ability to make another.
I respectfully decline to even consider lack of free will. If there isn’t any, there’s no point to humanity it being alive. I have no plans to read the book, it would only enrage me; even as a thought experiment.