Freedom’s cause…

Estudia: So, Phi, I think I got what you were talking about concerning how we have the choice to focus or not. And, I got the idea that evasion is like another choice. When I evade I am choosing willfully not to focus on something.

Philo: Correct. Evasion is much worse than not being in full focus. You are wishing something away, refusing to identify with it, hoping A will not be A as long as you can avoid thinking about it. It is very bad in every respect.

Estudia: Okay. Obviously the choice to focus or not to focus is not our only choice is it?

Philo: No. It’s your primary choice, but not your only choice. If you choose to focus, then all but reflex actions are chosen by you. You have the whole universe of ideas and actions to choose from, but you must decide on your goals.

Estudia: By goal, you mean what I will choose to think about or what I decide to do, right?

Philo: Exactly. First you have to be in focus and decide that you want to attack some problem or deal with some issue. Say, oh, I don’t know, say you want to start a business. What kind of business? Where? By yourself or with a partner? Immediately or next year? Money making or non-profit? On-line, at home, from an office? What will you call this business? With your own money or barrowed from a bank, a friend, a family member? There are umpteen questions to answer about any issue. But there are also numerous ways or methods of attacking any of these questions. Do you ask others, study books, make lists, or what? With every question there are other questions and at each step you have to make choices. At each choice you have to choose to remain in focus. That again is the primary choice. The choice that must be made at the beginning and every step along the way. You choose the issue or problem and you choose the method of thinking about it.

Estudia: But are these choices really free? I mean, aren’t there reasons that a person chooses such-and-such and then aren’t that persons’ choices caused by something? The principle of causality you said states that every action has a cause. So if my actions have a cause, then they aren’t free, they are determined. Or if they are indeterminate and have no causes, then I might just as well conclude that everyone is insane.

Philo: Sometimes I wonder if that last option isn’t far from the truth in this world. Just kidding. You have described the philosophical view of indeterminism. Man’s thoughts and actions are not caused. The alternative that your actions are caused by something is called determinism. The error here is that you must realize that causality is not a principle that you can apply to consciousness like you can to matter in general. For matter, there is no choice. You, however, choose the causes that will determine your actions.

Estudia: So, if I say my choice was caused by something, I must mean that there was a reason behind it. I made a choice and could have made a different one.

Philo: But your choices were not automatic. Lots of things shaped your thought processes. Things like your knowledge, if you chose to apply it to your new question. Your knowledge is useless if you did not choose to pay attention and apply what you know and wind up accepting something that contradicts your previous knowledge. If new evidence arises and you don’t seek it out you will not be able to reach the correct conclusion. If you know how to think about a problem and apply those methods you will benefit; if you know and do not apply those methods you will suffer. You have to be interested in the problem and value the results. If not, your mind will wander from the problem and you will fail. By fail, I mean, not take action when it is needed to achieve a goal, or suffer the consequences of a reality that you have evaded or failed to become aware of.

Estudia: I think I’m getting confused at little here. If I choose to be in focus I will want to maintain the connection between my mind and reality. I’d want to concentrate on the problem, not let my mind wander, right?

Philo: Correct. You’re doing that now I hope.

Estudia: Well, mostly. I’m thinking about all the things I ought to be doing besides thinking about thinking. You know, lots of personal problems/situations, etc. That is distracting and I want to do better. Obviously interest is important in deciding how well I will focus.

Philo: You bet. If you’re life depended on passing a test on this material, you’d be a lot more aware and in focus.

Estudia: Hahaha. Okay, but, in terms of thoughts, there has to be some cause, and similarly, before I act there must be some cause. Isn’t that the Law of Causality?

Philo: You can’t have a thought process without a reason, and you can’t perform an action either without a reason. The thoughts you have and the actions you take are caused by what you think, and what you think is going to be influenced by what you know and what you hold as valuable. Your beliefs, true or false, life enhancing or not, will factor into the decisions you make at each branch point where a choice presents itself to you. But your thoughts and/or actions do not emerge automatically. Both involve a process of continual choice. Each step you take, whether a mental process, or a physical action, has a cause or reason which explains it.

Estudia: But isn’t the basic motivation just some random indeterminate occurrence? If not doesn’t that imply we don’t really have a choice and things really are determined from outside ourselves?

Philo: No, you are your own self-mover. You have the freedom to decide what cause moves you. Will it be a focused awareness with a long-range purpose or an out-of-focus blur with moment-by-moment promptings?

Estudia: I understand the problem solving analysis. To focus or not to focus, that is the question. Then each thought will depend on the previous choices and I will have to continually choose to remain in focus. But what about my actions? I take an action based on my thinking, but how is the next action related?

Philo: Well, your choice which you must make on every issue you are going to act on is to decide whether you are going to act in accordance with your values or not. That means you must know what you are doing and why you are doing it. You have to have a purpose for your action, and a long-range goal that you are going to pursue over time. A purpose you are acting to achieve despite any and all obstacles and despite any distractions. Your actions have to be ordered according to your values so that you act more urgently and put more effort into those actions that are most important. You must choose your activities so that they move you forward toward your goals.

Estudia: Woe... I can see that someone could accept certain values and betray them by their actions. They could also evade and not perform the steps their goal requires, or even not think about them when required.

Philo: Sure, you can choose to be out of focus, and drop the effort and discipline required to achieve a purpose. Happens all the time. Look at all the people who say they value their health and life yet can’t stay on a healthy diet. Look at all the dreamers that say they want to achieve something yet never lift a finger to move them in the direction of their dream. You get pushed through the day by random urges, peer pressures, societal expectations, unadmitted fears. You turn yourself over to your subconscious and stop making conscious decisions and feel determined, helpless, and out of control.

Estudia: Yes, but the sad thing I can now see is that it doesn’t have to be that way. That type of person chose to not focus at some point and their life is, as a result, in the state that it is.

Philo: Yet the choice is always there for them to turn it around. But like bad eating, poor thinking, lying and cheating, their state becomes a habit hard to break.

Estudia: Wow, once again. I have a lot of choices to think about. See you later.