Are Humans Gods, Apes, or Biological Puppets? Free Will Narcissism

"I do not believe in freedom of the will. Schopenhauer's words: Man can do what he wants, but he cannot will what he wills accompany me in all situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of others even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the lack of freedom of will preserves me from taking too seriously myself and my fellow men as acting and deciding individuals and from losing my temper."

“If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord…. So would a being, endowed with higher insight and more perfect intelligence, watching man and his doings, smile about man’s illusion that he was acting according to his own free will.”

— Albert Einstein

Have you ever noticed the connection between the belief in "free will" and delusional ideologies? Whether it's psychosis, religion, or spirituality, the emphasis on an individual's self-image with a "will of its own" is always present. Let's explore the dark underbelly of this phenomenon and seek a rational understanding.

The topic of whether or not humans have free will is challenging because it affects how we view ourselves. It cuts to the core of our perceptions. It questions what we can and can't control. It invokes a debate over human versus divine will. It commands an examination of genetic determinism and epigenetic factors (nature vs nurture).

Free will advocates deploy their will, arguing for their moral compass, especially the religious type, who have a lot to lose if the ugly truth were true. These noble savages fear the Leviathan, the darkest of themselves, their worst nightmare.

Who wants to admit they are not in control? Who wants to succumb to the horror of genetic possession? Who can tolerate the possibility of being a biological cyborg, nature's puppet? These are crazy thoughts, anathema, taboo, and vulgar — dangerous ideas fit for torture chambers. And that is no exaggeration when it comes to religion. Freely choosing to disobey the cosmic master will result in an eternal punishment far more creative than Hilter imagined.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Humans believe they are 'selves' who choose things that determine how better or worse they are than other primates. They work hard at their decisions because they identify with them, and are proud of them. They are looked up to by their peers for them. Their choices reflect their heroic journey. They are special and unique and thus feel obliged to judge those not like themselves. Their willed actions prove their elite selves. Of course, they refrain from admitting this virtue in the mirror. They quietly peer through the portals of their eyelids at the less fortunate.

Those who pride themselves in their genius may feel a mysterious intelligence but remain oblivious to the moment they became so remarkable. The narcissistic personality possesses a grandiose self-image, prioritizing self-preservation at the cost of others. This inflated sense of self seeks validation through choices that feed its psychic appetite. Additionally, some consider themselves street smart and proudly display their "degrees" from the "School of Hard Knocks," as if they enrolled at the ripe age of zygote.

Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole

The void is what humans fear the most, the emptiness of losing a sense of self that shapes their destiny. They become the strutters, rebelling against nature's laws, projecting their psyche onto the world's stage. They struggle to confront the truth, battling lustful thoughts in public and violent impulses in solitude. The psychological shadow erodes their faith in a "Self in charge of their lives." Some become victims of sin and reach out to pastors and priests to intercede for them at a price — their soul and the money it makes.

Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions.”

— Carl Jung 

Humans become the very predators they dread. Like unwitting vampires, they feed on admiration from others to sustain their "Choosing Self," which they secretly consider a moral necessity. To justify this behavior, they seek refuge in religious communities and submit to authoritarian Gods who accept them unconditionally, imperfections and all.

The Illusion of Religious Free Will

In Christianity, it is written that we are granted free will, allowing us to decide our path toward heaven or hell. Yet, how can we truly consider it 'free' when consequences loom over our choices? Such a notion seems contradictory to the very essence of freedom. Imagine a scenario where I hold a gun to your head and declare that you have the freedom to keep your wallet, but any resistance will lead to fatal repercussions (the loss of your soul eternally). Would you honestly feel like you have a choice at that moment?

Christians believe that sinners deserve the cosmic dumpster until they choose redemption. This self-negation is grandiose because they believe they are under the watchful eyes of divine authority — which is nothing more than a projection of their judgemental parents. When they get saved, they become born-again "Children of God" (adult children/Father God) with a mission to recruit the world for their Father.

Consider God's chosen people, the Jews, who daily choose their allegiance through prayer and supplication. These individuals ascribe their quiet sense of superiority as approved members of the Kingdom of God. They may endow you with their prayers, insinuating a stellar position above your earthly lot.

Then you have New Agers who 'choose to' come to earth to balance their karmic debt. They are blessed by celestial powers as they raise their vibrations up the ascension ladder. They are on the path to enlightenment, and if they meditate enough, they will achieve Godhood — or, as I like to put it, Divine Narcissism.

Notice how metaphysical claims defy reality. Miracles are "Super" natural rather than natural. Spiritual beings create reality rather than reality creates them. The former reeks of arrogance, the latter, humility.

Divine Contradiction 

Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." This is a profound contradiction in Christianity. How are sinners going to be judged by God Almighty when the Bible states that humans don't know what they are doing? How can humanity be guilty if their crimes are committed from ignorance? How can you be guilty of something you don't know is illegal? And why would you create a cosmic concentration camp to punish innocent sinners?

Fools, Mortals!!!

If 'you choose' to go to heaven or hell based on accepting or rejecting Jesus's sacrifice, then you are your own savior. Ironically, if humans are born in sin, they are genetically determined to sin since it is a condition inherited by Adam and Eve. So, how does a genetically determined sinner magically have the ability to choose a divine intervention from an invisible person who died for their sins? And to make matters more ridiculous, the salvation of the entire human race is dependent on disciples choosing to go into all the world and preach the gospel. If they fail, everybody goes to Hell; that's a lot of responsibility to put on lowly sinners.

Fools, Mortals!!!

One humorous explanation for these contradictions is the doctrine of predestination. In Christian theology, there are two primary perspectives: Calvinism, which teaches that God unconditionally chooses certain individuals for salvation (the elect) and others for damnation (the reprobate); and Arminianism, which holds that God's predestination is based on His foreknowledge of human choices and extends grace to enable individuals to respond to His call for salvation.

However you slice and dice the Jesus myth, free will is an illusion. Sinners save themselves by choosing salvation. If a sinner's power is given by God, then God is responsible for those who choose to go to hell. Even Saint Paul proclaimed free will an illusion when he said:

"For the good that I would I do not: but the evil that I would not, that I do."

Who's Running the Show?

So, the question is, do we have free will, and if not, what's stopping us from committing heinous acts? What are our limits? What part is on autopilot, and to what degree do we control our earth suit? The answer to this question lies in a radical assessment of what we think we are in control of. 

For starters, are unconscious decisions included in free will? Or does volition begin with consciousness? This is an important distinction because the answer defines the entire subject. Unconscious choosing is where the "pretending to know things we cannot know" comes in. This storytelling realm makes up for the dead space in the conversation. Conscious choice is much more convenient. It looks and feels as if it is volitional.

Let me simplify that. I'm sure it's evident that you don't choose to beat your heart. It's more like your heart is beating you. Without your heart beating, how could you make an independent decision? Furthermore, who is it that sees? Is seeing happening because of the unfathomable growth of your biology, or are you choosing to see? Do you choose your feelings? Breath? Hunger? Do you choose your thoughts? What part do you have control of the outside of survival instincts of nesting, breeding, and consuming?

It's all human-monkey business.

Several scientific studies have demonstrated that humans become aware of their thoughts seconds after the brain creates them. These thoughts depend on the heart beating and lungs breathing, entirely dependent on the environment in which they evolved.

How can thought be produced by the brain without the billions of years it took to grow an ecosystem for human primates? It's more like nature is choosing for us.

How much control did you have being born? When did you make your first decision? Was the environment responsible for the reactions of your biology, or were you in the head of the organism pulling levers and steering?

Are We Biological Puppets?

The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind. ― H. P. Lovecraft

The Achilles heel of humanity is consciousness. As Thomas Ligotti said, "Most people learn to save themselves by artificially limiting the content of consciousness.” Another tactic is to invent elaborate stories of delusional influence and power.

Some may point to the global elite with their ability to rule the world as proof of free will. But that comes from the belief in forces outside of nature. How is anything, not evolution? How is evil any different than the destructive forces of nature?

These questions perplex religious storytellers because they believe in a separate evil force fighting against good. The reality-shattering fact is the global elite are the apes at the top of the food chain doing what human primates do. It's in their nature to dominate. It's genetically determined. Humans are apex predators!

Everywhere humans migrate, resources are consumed, and life forms go extinct. Consider the billions of animals that are required to keep human primates alive? Of course, you don't see grandma and the kids tackling cows in the pasture, slitting their throats for dinner. Slaughterhouses (animal concentration camps) do the dirty work for us, and supermarkets package the flesh.

Even the Bible makes the case for God being the author of evil:

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.

— Isaiah 45:7

Human consciousness is dependent on evolution. It is the stuff that makes humans believe in a delusional self who authors its existence. Biologically, we are nature's puppets with an awareness of the experience, much like an android out of a Star Wars movie is portrayed.

But there is one caveat. . . when the realization occurs that we are a force of nature, the belief (or non-belief) in free will doesn't matter because there is no separation between us and a doer — we are being lived in real-time. The Self who believed it was in charge, "Bob or Mary," is dissolved, and our authentic essence is life in harmony with itself, connected to all things in a mathematical symphony of experience.

That is a far better experience than a "little me" believing it is a "Big Me" when it is merely a genetically determined puppet.

"The Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao."

— Zzenn