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ANNOTATION:
The Autonomy of Individual Freedom
As if predesigned for a purpose, the physical world is abundant with evidence of a "master plan". It is a self-sustained system in which every thing and event not only has a proper time and place but a cause-and-effect relationship with the Whole. And yet, if there is a divine purpose or meaning in this grand design, it is oddly hidden from the creature who stands to benefit most from it. Does it not seem reasonable that the providential architect of this wondrously crafted universe would have left us with at least a clue to that purpose? The absence of such a clue has given atheists cause to reject the divinity and the purpose.
But let us suppose that the Creator in his infinite wisdom so designed the world that each creature would have the privilege of living its own reality, guided by its own unique perspective, free of the restrictions that knowledge "beyond the experience" would impose on its attitudes and behavior. Supposing further that the free expression allowed the individual in his innocence, and the attendant realization of values not otherwise possible, were the very purpose of the Master Plan.
Given this scenario, it should come as no surprise that the tree of knowledge should not only be forbidden but so well concealed that even the wisest of creatures would be at a loss to discover it. In deference to the atheists, I submit that the "missing clue" is our assurance of individual Freedom, that the inscrutability of life's meaning confirms the teleological nature of our experienced world.
The poet who was moved to exclaim, "Ignorance is bliss" probably did not intend to reveal a cosmic principle, yet, consider the alternative. If you were suddenly granted the key to all knowledge, including the origin, meaning and destiny of your life—complete with a timetable—would it be a gift or a curse? Would you be content with the prospect of never having to make a choice, feel surprise, or ponder an unknown fate? Or would this wisdom reduce your life-experience to that of a robotized creature, automatically running its prescribed course under the control of an external source?
Human Freedom is not simply a noble aphorism invented by moralists and legislators. The exercise of free choice requires that the antecedent causes as well as the consequences of individual actions be concealed from awareness at the time decisions are made. This ensures the autonomy of the individuated perspective, while allowing us to gain experience in acquiring the skills of self-mastery and value judgment that give direction and meaning to our existence.
The "unalienable rights" sanctioned by America's founders alludes to a universal principle that applies even to individuals living in servitude or captivity. Far more than a political or social right, Freedom is the scenario needed for the full appreciation of Value. It forces us to weigh and choose personal values in the context of an indeterminate reality, while at the same time affording us the opportunity to "make a difference" in our own life-experience and, by example, in the community of mankind at large.
The inherent justice of this existential scenario is evidenced by the personal autonomy that it grants to each of us. Along with Desire and its complementary Value, Freedom defines our metaphysical reality, it represents both the price and the terms of our lifetime contract with the Creator. But there is also a teleological objective to this cosmic scheme: existential Freedom for the individual is the means by which the Value of Absolute Essence may be realized incrementally and without bias.
We test the integrity of our Freedom whenever we act on a conscious decision. Would that decision have been different had we known that it was predetermined by the laws of cause-and-effect? That the outcome of our decisions may be plotted on a logic tree and, in retrospect, be shown to have been "foreordained by Nature" does not affect our freedom to choose in the first instance, any more than neuro-electrical stimulation of the gray matter in our cerebral cortex affects our freedom to act. Self-awareness and one's individual destiny are inextricably linked not by immutable laws of quantum physics but by immanent values that are open to individual assessment and free choice of action.
Author: Anonymous (name [ at ] host.domain)
Date: May 20, 2003REPLY:
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