Do We Create Our Own Reality, or Just Influence It?
And why that’s not really the important question to ask…
I’m confused by the “free will versus determinism” debate. Do we have a hand in choosing our actions? Does our internal decision-making process rule our destiny the way it seems to? Or is this all really out of our hands and we’re simply acting a script written by some higher power under the illusion that we aren’t?
When someone says, “You create your own reality,” they typically mean something more spiritual, almost magical, than the question of free will versus determinism. I’d argue, though, that the distinction between whether or not we create reality and whether or not we have free will is merely a matter of degree, that they’re qualitatively the same question. I’ll get to arguing that in a moment.
For now, let’s start with the basic question of, “Is there free will?”
The unequivocal answer is: Yes.
Believing in free will and believing in determinism both require believing in free will; the question is simply, whose? If you “believe in free will,” then the will belongs to you, as you experience yourself. If you “believe in determinism,” then the will belongs to someone else — God, fate, the Universe, destiny, the stars, nature, etc.
