The Illusion of Control-Fate and Free Will

By

Michael Ryan

The control we have over our lives is by and large limited and dictated by forces outside of our immediate control. Also, the choices we make daily no matter how seemingly insignificant in the larger picture, create powerful “after effects” that not only affect our future both immediate and long term, but other’s future as well. The vast interrelatedness of humans in modern society all but guarantees that we, as individuals are in some respects like a small boat navigating a vast and turbulent ocean.

If you’ve studied to any decent level, the notion of so-called “divine foreknowledge and the problem of choice” or exist as merely an informed fan of the “Matrix” movies, then you undoubtedly will grok the problem of choice, determinism and fate. As you may recall from your “Intro to Philosophy” class in college, the paradox of fate and free will is a biggie. Perhaps you were tickled by the reoccurring claim in the Matrix movie…”its all about choice” and somehow equated that seemingly benign statement to the notions on free will offered by say Alexander of Aphrodisias, (yeah I said Aphrodisias, and no he did not invent Viagra), wherein he claims that deliberation ( aka choosing) is done on the assumption that we have the power to do otherwise from what we actually did. If it is possible for us to choose the opposite or to act otherwise, even if only sometimes, then deliberation is crucial in judging correctly and doing the right thing or what is in our best interest. In other words, there is an assumption that there are things that really depend on us.

Certainly no one likes to think, let alone admit, that they do not have control in their lives. Critical decisions like what college to attend, major, career, who to marry, how many children, where to live and so forth surely are within our decision path. But if you picture the larger social reaction construct that includes all the decisions of everyone around you say to 4 or 5 degrees of separation, you would see the ocean of intertwined decision paths and quickly realize how much control you really have.

In the novel “Chaos Theory” we learned the concept of “sensitive dependence on initial conditions”, otherwise known as the “Butterfly Effect” and how small perturbations in a system can have profound effects on the future “picture”, if you will, of that system.

If you consider your sphere of influence to include say 50 people, then this group would be the immediate system. Consider each member of that system then having 50 or so people in their respective systems. Well you know the old saying if you tell 2 people and they tell 2 people and so on I think you get the picture. Pretty soon we get a model of probability and interrelatedness that looks something like a vast tapestry. Just a side note, maybe this tapestry of social cause and effect is the reality behind the “myth” of the Fates weaving time lines for each of us. In effect, all your choices were presented to you after everyone else “stacked the deck.”

Choice is not an option.

If I were to give you a menu with, well, let’s say 25 items, it would take you more time to decide what you wanted to eat then say if I gave you a choice of 5 items. Not to mention your anxiety at having so few options. How about if I gave you a menu with only 1 item cooked 25 different ways? Like squash. How often are you really in control of your choices? It appears as though you are allowed to choose only from the “menu” another person hands you. That doesn’t sound much like control to me! Did you go the school your father attended? How about the sport you played in high school? Is it possible your whole life course, all it’s varied paths and side roads were a continuation or fulfillment of someone else’s journey?

I think it’s safe to say that like most people, early in your life, you took advice from your parents and teachers and to some extent your peers and their parents and then looked at your options. And you made a decision! Well done…you’re going to spend the rest of your life living a life that really isn’t yours. And chances are, somewhere down the line, you are going to wake up screaming and singing the fabulous Talking Heads tune…”this is not my house…this not my car…these are not my clothes..!” But seriously that probably won’t happen to you and usually doesn’t happen to others. For you to realize that you aren’t who you really wanted to be, you’d have to see choices and options and paths completely outside your experience and the sphere of influence of all the other people in your life.

Illusion of choice and the propaganda machine. The Pragmatics of your freedom of Choice

On a more practical note, most of what you thought you knew, gleaned from your exposure to the media as well as your circle of influence in society have come to an agreement regarding the nature of life in our full of choices democracy. The problem begins, however, when you suddenly realize that something is really wrong. There are decisions being made in your city or town, state and federal government arenas that make no sense.

And the saddest part…not even your circle of influence has a clue what’s going on! As Noam Chomsky said in his piece “The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda”, there is the power class which consists of the business world and it’s government power brokers and then there is the “bewildered herd”, the rest of us that run our lives according to the empty slogans that are literally engineered for us. No matter what you believe to be right or wrong especially in politics, you can always be persuaded otherwise. The fact is the government needs you to stay passive an happy with the choices you’ve made.