This is the first installment of my intellectual commitments series. It’s a doozy …
I am a hard determinist. I believe that everything that has ever happened happened because it had to and that everything that will happen in the future must happen the way that it will. Being a hard determinist means that I reject the common construction of free will that says I can act or believe however I wish at any moment. I think that it can feel like we are free from all internal and external constraints and that we can act against our nature and disposition if we so choose, but I think that in reality that feeling is simply an illusion, a trick our mind, will, and heart play on us. I do hold to a very qualified and limited notion of freedom, but now is not the time for me to talk about that. You see, its simply not determined to be …
I am a hard determinist for one main reason divided into three parts. The main reason is that it seems to be the best representation of reality. Of my three parts I will only mention two because the third will probably be another post in and of itself:
- History appears to demand it - if you think about the past you will realize that there are certain true facts about it. These true facts are the preconditions from which the world as we know it exists. Without these true facts there is no modern world as we know it. These true facts are a necessity and must have happened the way that they did for today to be both real and today. Since there will only be one real future that will one day be called today, it is easy to assume that there will have to be true facts that will be created today that will eventually lead to that one real and true future. Since the past is set in stone it appears that the future, to be real, must also be set in stone.
- Science relies on it - there are tons of “laws” in science that say if this or that happens then blank will happen. If any object falls it will accelerate at 9.8 m/sec2 in a vacuum. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by another force. Green eggs and ham taste really good. All these are scientific “facts” that indicate that given certain conditions certain outcomes result. These results then become conditions themselves with new results and so the chain goes on and on and on ….
Chances are you are wondering what pre-existing conditions somehow forced you to be reading this post. Was it that bagel you had for breakfast? Did brushing your teeth when you were five have something to do with it? Can you really rebroadcast MLB events on international waters with implied oral consent instead of the required express written consent (nod)? I simply answer yes. All of it matters and all of it has some type of bearing on you reading my post. Doesn’t that blow your mind?
Personal Finance Application
Believe it or not, this commitment of mine has some implications on the way that I think about my finances. Because I am a hard determinist:
- … I think that if I do certain things I will get certain outcomes. My future is directly related to how I respond to today, so I ought to respond with my future in mind. If I want to retire when I am 29 and live a life that changes lives rather than fattens my pocket book and feeds my family then there are certain steps that I need to take right now to see that happen. I’m not saying I know what those steps are (other than make a lot of money very quickly and living debt free), and I am certainly not willing to say that the preconditions exists for it to be so (I’m certainly hoping it is), but I know that is a potential possibility that must rooted in a certain course of action. I also know that if I’m not taking the steps then I will not even be in the running.
- … I think that small stuff matters. Things like turning off lights when they are not in use, using a rewards credit card, and brushing your teeth with less toothpaste may not be the most important steps to financial health, but they do matter. So I try to be wise with the things that I do or don’t do. I attempt to make sure I am making the best us of my time and resources to create a future that I will be happy with.
- … I think that when it comes down to it, there are some things that I have no power over - so I can stop crapping my pants. Fear and anxiety over things outside of my sphere of action will only cause me to miss out on opportunities to respond to negative financial circumstances in a way that can turn the negative into a positive. Am I worried about my (non-existent) stock portfolio give the current market conditions? Maybe I should consider buying up all the bargains that other people’s fear and anxiety have created. Am I worried that home prices are going to continue to plummet? This could be the time to get my ducks in a row to purchase a rental property. Is credit card debt tanking my finances? Now is the time to learn the financial wisdom and discipline it takes to be all grown up. It seems to me that if you are experiencing some type of fear or anxiety you are probably in danger of missing out on an opportunity to grow either emotionally/personally or financially - so stop being a pants crapper.
In the spirit of intellectual honesty I have to admit that a free-will-er might give the exact same advice and it would that makes perfect sense within their own world view (I just think their world view is wrong). Hard determinists don’t have a monopoly on good advice!
What do you think about this whole free-will thing? Is it for the birds? Am I crazy? It’s time to call out the color of the kettle.
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. In the following clip we find our country bumpkin (Julie Andrews) plopped into the big city of New York. Faced with the fact that she is in the dreaded state of 
you may find this clip a little risque. The really funny part comes near the end.
