Dan's Wager

Robert Sapolsky has just added his imprimatur to the long lineage of smart people claiming that we do not, at least as far as the physical universe is concerned, seem to have free will. I’ll take this argument one step further. Accepting the premise, the only way that we could have free will is through a non-physical entity: a higher power capable of overriding the tyrannical cause-and-effect of physical reactions. This leads to an obvious conclusion: you should believe in a higher power and join the happy ranks of the spiritual, because either a) you are correct or b) you are wrong but your belief was not your choice anyway.

You might argue that this “higher power” is a pretty vague thing, far from the concrete entities preached by most religions. And that’s true, but it does at least seem to be uniquely concerned with sentient beings, affording our minds, uniquely among all the matter in the known universe, the freedom to operate extra-physically. (Of course, you could have a much broader definition of free will. In which case, go start your own religion and stop messing with mine.)

Ok, now that I’ve convinced you to join my religion at the ground floor, what kind of edifice can we build? Let’s find out.

Free will is clearly not operating (or at least not central) in the average moment of decision. When I’m trying to pick which pizza to order, I stall until the last possible moment, not because I’m waiting to exercise my free will, but because I’m waiting for my subconscious preferences to bubble up and out of my vocal chords. So far, we agree with Robert Sapolsky. In that case, when and where does this putative free will operate?

I claim that it operates at a deeper level. Most of the time the influence is minimal, and we are simply watching the deterministic show unfold. But occasionally its influence rises to be powerful enough to change the immediate course of events or alter the substrate that will make future subconscious decisions. I expect these moments to feel different—special. For lack of a better word, I’ll call them “spiritual experiences”.

So the whole picture is this: Your consciousness is mostly spectating a deterministic show, but that show is partially determined by your instincts and expectations, and those can be influenced by that outside force that we call “free will” (operating based on the observations of the consciousness) during particular moments of presentness and deep feeling that we call “spiritual experiences”.

What does this mean for you? It means you should cultivate spiritual experiences. How? By taking any opportunity to be awed by the grandeur and mystery of nature, culture, human connection, and your own mind. You are affording your free will (your soul?) more opportunities to create a harmonious life. Your free will wants your consciousness to be more than a victim of the deterministic dictates of physical and chemical circumstance. But if you never interrupt the program, the program will continue uninterrupted.