Some notes on the terror of determinism.

The fatalist versus determinist argument will never cease to fascinate me. I've involved myself in this debate many times, either by design or by consequence. The argument is not necessarily a purely metaphysical one in this case; rather, I'm asking if human beings are ruled by expansive, pervasive biological impulses that are predetermined by a genetic master plan. So the question is, are we conscious? Do we possess consciousness? Is consciousness a clear view of our world and of ourselves, or is it merely a constrained window, pried open by our will or desire to survive, yet does not allow us to see all the contours of material or mental life?

We are terrified of not having control, or the presumption that we do have control over our bodies, our relationships and our psyches. Individuality is a valued sentiment in our society; that is, the individual's needs and desires are paramount, and we value our uniqueness and strive to maintain it (for further explanation check out Simmel's work on eccentricity). In this case, I would refer to this value in terms of morality, in the sense that it frames how personal character should be constructed and expressed. So, if burden ourselves with the knowledge that "outside" forces coerce us, then our moral framework collapses under the weight of existential despair. Well, possibly.

However, we cannot dismiss the potential harm of implementing social, political, economic or cultural reforms founded on a deterministic ontology. However, I'm still thinking about this point. There's more to come, I'm sure.

I just remembered I have some material on defining common sense somewhere. I should dig that up.