Karma, Determinism, and Free Will: Their Perils and Pitfalls
Dr. Ajmal Sobhan, Retired Physician, Virginia
by Ajmal Sobhan, M.D., Retired Physician, VA
(YSN Vol. 5, No. 1 – Apr. 2017)
The art of negotiating one’s way through life is fraught with such numerous fluctuations in fortune on all scales that it is hard to truly ascertain whether any particular decision outcome (or event) is attributable to evitable versus inevitable causes. This observation begs the following questions:
Are we truly responsible for our actions? Do we make a conscious decision each time we do something? Do the decisions that we make emanate from our own individual selves, or are these decisions actually bundled up entities reflecting a manifestation of the collective psyche of which we are a part? Are the physiology, fluxes of energies, and physical and chemical particles that make up our neuronal soup strictly dictated by the unalterable laws of the Universe? Are our thoughts and decisions merely the byproducts of those fluxes in action, or are they just the cogs and wheels operating in the complex machinery, independent of the universal laws? Does our brain, and the intellect housed therein, allow us the choice to proceed in different directions? Are we the ‘decider’ of an action, or has the decision already been made for us, and we are just the ‘executors’ of the action without any guidance to its fruition? Are we in control of our destiny, or has that destiny already been encrypted into our individual being?
Can we truly be held morally accountable for all that we do?
Consider the hypothetical case of a serial killer, who has murdered many in the past, and gets up in the middle of the night, his psychotic mind ever goading him to kill one more time. He gathers his deadly weapon, visits upon his next victim, and despite all entreaties, lands the lethal blow – all of this heinous crime being committed without any conscience or a sense of guilt. Is this man just a mechanical robot without a ‘Free Will,’ programmed merely to kill? Or is there such a thing as a ‘Free Will’ within him, despite which, he has chosen to do this heinous act out of his own volition?
Consider a mother, hiding from the Nazis, with a baby in her lap, who chokes the baby to death so that its cry would not lead the murderous soldiers from discovering her and the larger group of people who would likely all lose their lives upon being found. A mother’s decision to sacrifice her baby to save the lives of many others – a spontaneous decision made under unimaginably trying circumstances. Was this a decision written in stone a long time ago, or was this a reflection of her ‘Free Will’?
Humans—the highest form of sentient life—possess a complicated nervous system that allows the brain to formulate a decision and lead us through action to execute it. Our mind is the most discriminating agent there is, ever occupied in the constant flow of life to make decisions every millisecond that are right or wrong, good or bad. There is always a time delay, however, between the brain wave and the execution of the decision, sometimes allowing for re-evaluation or a second thought. Opportunities for re-evaluation do not always exist; a soldier, for instance, might make split-second decisions that can be a matter of life and death for him. The instinct for self-preservation may be viewed as compelling him into making the decision that is right for himself—or so he thinks or perceives in that moment.
The concept of ‘Free Will’ as a philosophical or religious idea has been present throughout the ages in many human societies. So has been the understanding of Determinism, which is characterized as being ”bound by causality in such a way that any state is determined by its prior state.” As such, the chain of events from the time the universe began to the present has remained unbroken, the occurrence of a future event being merely an extension of this unbroken chain, and hence already determined. When compared with each other, these concepts—of freedom and choice of action, as propounded by Free Will, versus the concept of inevitability or predestination, as promulgated by Determinism—are apparently at loggerheads. Each doctrine offers a formidable and cogent defense of its tenets that is equally appealing to the mind. In such a stalemate, is it then possible that a certain level of choice of action does exist per the belief in Free Will, but that the eventual outcome of this choice is necessarily ordained by Determinism?
Knowing well how strictly we are subject to all of the physical laws of nature, it appears illogical to assume that one is in total control of all the actions and decisions one executes; just the same, it appears no less illogical to assume that one has absolutely no control in the manner and type of actions one is called upon to make.
Every action we take has consequences and entails reactions. The fallout from our decisions affects not ourselves, but everything and everyone around us. The footprints that we lay down in this process of decision-making have a cumulative effect on surroundings. For instance, a decision made that is ‘proper,’ ‘just,’ and ‘moral’ will likely have positive effects; while a decision made in haste and in anger can bring about unhappiness and turmoil. In other words, our actions are of at least two kinds: those that have a harmonious effect on us and the surroundings, versus those that are disruptive and disharmonious.
Imperfect creatures as we are, the choices and decisions that we make are likely to be of the ‘harmonious’ kind fifty percent of the time—if we are lucky, that is! Does this statistic signify that we are inherently incompetent or not deliberate in our actions? Or does it simply mean that we suffer from a manner of cognitive dissonance that permits a willful blindness to those actions of ours that are known to be disharmonious?
It is fair to say that we do possess a freedom to choose in many circumstances. Moreover, the choices that we make do have long-lasting effects, well beyond an immediate future. However, the decision to opt for a certain choice curiously appears to be not solely ours alone, as there are various other causes that contribute to and affect our decisions. Karma, the pre-programmed book of actions in the DNA that we are born with, is a major such factor, according to those who espouse this tradition. In addition, there are the inviolable natural laws of physics and chemistry with which to contend, both within and outside of our physical bodies. There are also the environmental factors of wind, rain, seasons, germs, epidemics, flora, and fauna, all impacting the physiology and the proper functioning of the living body in various ways, direct and indirect.
In the Buddhist tradition, Karma and the actions that we undertake weigh heavily on our pursuit of the ultimate liberation from the bondage of sorrow and suffering. The enormous diversity of factors and causes that can and do affect our karma might then appear to be too burdensome for us to overcome, and thus render any effort at truly gaining some measure of control over our destiny rather improbable. Despite this apparent Karmic insurmountability, through the doctrine of ‘Free Will,’ we do possess freedom of volitional action that offers an opportunity.
If one were to follow the Deterministic standpoint, one would really not be in control of one’s actions, even though these decisions to act in a certain manner were made consciously. This is because the cosmic blend of materiality, energy forms, and their fluxes, which together constitute our universe and all sentient beings, go back in time to the Big Bang itself. In other words, any decisions we now get to make, which fully owe their existence to this universe of ours, are still a part of the continuum of events harking back to the beginning of time; thus, we cannot be independent of them. In other words, we cannot or would not be able to take ownership of these decisions as entities independent of the above continuum—or so the Determinists would have you believe.
On the other hand, the existence of ‘Free Will’ has a structuring effect on a society. It offers immense possibilities with respect to organization, harmonization, and execution of human thoughts and actions. We make simple and complicated decisions all the time, on a continual basis, and these decisions often have moral and ethical implications and consequences. In other words, what we sow is what we reap. As flawed humans, we are prone to make mistakes, often repetitively, and, as such, face the consequences thereof. There is often a steep learning curve, as we realize and comprehend the outcome of our decisions, as in the example of the cigarette smoker, who smokes for 40-50 years and finally becomes a pulmonary cripple, or worse, develops lung cancer.
Despite the freedom of action offered by ‘Free Will,’ this freedom may not be exercised to an extreme degree either. The fact that we possess free will is not a carte blanche ability for dealing with an eventuality in any manner one pleases. This is because any ethical system, which also is a product of the free will, imposes strict checks and balances on the type and scope of actions one may indulge in.
Determinism, which can easily be portrayed as being fatalistic, offers us very little by way of decision-making; and execution of our actions by way of a deliberative process. In such a situation, assigning moral culpability to those actions of ours becomes an impossible task. In the society in which we live, without moral culpability and accountability, there would be chaos, anarchy, discord, disharmony, pain, and suffering. On one hand, the hard-wired deterministic laws of nature strictly regulate the ebbs and flows of energies and material particles—which, in addition to making up the inert bodies of the universe, also compose the sentient beings. In this sense, everything which is a part of the all-encompassing universe is governed by the deterministic laws of nature; it is only in that ‘material’ sense alone that we may regard our actions as ‘strictly not our own.’
Going back to the Buddhist tradition, the laws of Karma are very much compatible with the exercise of free will. Despite material laws of nature strictly regulating our corporeal functioning, we do indeed possess an ability and a capacity to will freely. With that proviso, one then gets to devise a moral and ethical compass; construct a scale of good and evil; and subject oneself to the consequences of one’s action, whether good or evil.
What we are today is a sum total result of what we did yesterday; and what we are going to be tomorrow is a consequence of what we do today. The karmic foot prints that we lay down cannot be reversed, but they can be gradually erased in the future as we become increasingly cognizant of the consequences of our intended and unintended actions. The chaotic nature of chemical factors regulating our brain activity may at times skew our perceptions, and thus render our responses and actions unwholesome, with unintended consequences. In that sense, it is fair to say that we are not always in control of our senses and sensibilities. Despite that, it is a reasonable proposition to profess that volition does play a key role in the process of emancipation from undesired and disharmonious actions and consequences. Seeking to redeem oneself by completely erasing the unsavory Karmic footprints may turn out to be a near impossibility in one life span. That ought to be not a deterrent, however—we do have a choice. Through self-inquiry and self-knowledge, propelled by free will, one can always diligently strive to become better human beings. Of course the believer would say, “Ask forgiveness from the Omnipotent, and all will be fine.” That may work for the believer, but it is too simplistic. The onus of responsibility is less likely to be passed on, as it remains with oneself.
In summary, we do have free will, though it often appears to be constricted and bounded by the constraints imposed by the laws of nature. On the other hand, Determinism and the absence of free will is a dangerous prescription for a life of folly. In a crouching posture of abject helplessness and total lack of control, one certainly can wait endlessly, and witness how life plays out by itself through its vagaries. That, too, is a choice one could make. In contrast, a ‘harmonious’ choice would be to take the bull by the horn, and steer it in the direction that will allow self-realization to seep into one’s life.
For one who believes in neither a heaven nor a hell as the final judgment seat of arbiters of good versus evil, it is incumbent on oneself to always make conscious decisions that, even if motivated primarily by self-preservation, blend harmoniously with the general good of the surrounding and the society one inhabits. One may falter, and at times fail, but life being a learning process, one can get up and cleanse oneself, and become better. Forgiveness for our bad actions does not providentially descend upon us. Once we become deeply aware that our thoughts and actions have consequences that are symmetric, we can willfully trudge the path of total harmony and balance in life—and that is the power of self-redemption.
Whether one believes in rebirth or reincarnation, or holds some other belief, it behooves oneself to follow the path of self-inquiry and self-analysis, and thereby seek to transform to be a better human being in the present life. The ability to make a conscious decision and face the consequences of such a decision goes hand in hand with the construct of ‘Free Will.’