Conatus: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

C O N A T U S

whether or not the universe is deterministic in nature. In other words, there is only the illusion of free choice, but in fact the starting conditions of the universe determine everything that will happen throughout time. God, being responsible for the starting conditions, is therefore responsible for all the bad stuff that happens (and therefore there is predestination as well as foreknowledge). In a way this seems to make God even more culpable.

But quantum theory has blown the deterministic argument out of the water. It might seem that it affords God some leeway with regard to intervention and gives us back our freedom of agency. But really it only adds to randomness — it makes causation and agency harder to explain, not easier. It does not especially affect the choices we looked at earlier with regard to creation.

Perhaps it could also be argued that God could intervene in such a way as to not compromise our freedom and without causing a cascade of further interventions being needed. But that does not seem to solve the imperfect world issue — in fact it may make it more complicated.

Religion, of course, offers various answers to these conundrums — none of which seem especially convincing. It’s tempting, in fact, to regard the questions raised as theological and religious issues — issues that can be safely side-stepped if one is an unbeliever. But, I’d argue, not so. The issues of the One and the Many, of perfection and imperfection and of free will and agency are issues for philosophy and science as much as for religion. It’s just that, with science

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