This is a second post in a series about the concept of free will. The first part is here. In that part we assumed the existence of a machine, known as the Sorter, which as the ability to perfectly predict human behavior. Let's further assume that this machine has some sort of plan to use its knowledge to further human social harmony.
Ultimately, we this series is about accepting that both chance and cause/effect govern our lives. I suppose this assumes that chance is not just the result of deterministic forces we don’t yet understand. However, in practical terms there are things that happen for a reason and things that just happen. As long as the Sorter is the only thing that embraces this reality, then it remains in control. That is, the Sorter has a plan, but it knows that chance events may disrupt that plan. Jason was not supposed to be there, but the Sorter improvises. This could confused some people, because the Sorter behaves as though it did plan certain things. Sometimes, the ability to take advantage of chance events makes us believe in one of two fallacious ideas.
The first is fate. We may convince ourselves that we are destined for greatness or despair due to forces beyond our control. Though they do not express this explicitly, some are subject to this belief and is prone to self sacrifice and refusal to take action. Others might also struggle with the Sorter’s ability, but in their case it manifests as a confusion between the Sorter predicting outcomes and the Sorter causing outcomes.
The second is complete self reliance. We may convince ourselves that we have determined our own outcome. Rosalind and Marianne embrace this idea initially. While some attempt to achieve self reliance through force of will, others attempt to achieve it through knowledge. Yet another kind of person is a bit of a mix of both belief in external and internal control. He operates under the fear that his life may be utterly outside his control, but still resists that control in a way that the person prone to self sacrifice does not. Thus he behaves in ways more erratic and irrational than anyone else. This makes him an ideal candidate for the lynch pin of the Sorters plan, because he is the easiest to manipulate.
Absolute faith in either fate or self reliance is an attempt to convert chance into choice and deny its existence. The Sorter, possessing no psychological need to deny chance, thus appears to be in control because it can adapt. Once some people begin to take advantage of chance events, they begin to turn the tide. They may not be successful at first, but eventually they might manage to outsmart the Sorter.
However, acknowledging the role of chance in our lives involves more than adapting to it. Ultimately, chance is essential to progress. No one would know this more than the one who creates the machine to begin with. His work on the Sorter forces him to come face to face with the predictability of human behavior. He counteracts this by injecting chance into his life on purpose. He uses the roulette device to guide his work and ultimately makes the Sorter self-aware. This is mirrors the emergence of human intelligence from evolutionary processes. Natural selection filters random mutations according to their suitability for survivability in a particular environment. The difference is that natural selection blind and driven by survival, whereas the Sorter's creator has a specific goal. He knows he cannot achieve this goal by “solving for x”. There is no way for him to get outside himself and look at a problem in a different way without inducing a mental quantum leap.
There is no way to guarantee that events will not ultimately overcome us. That is the case no matter what, whether we embrace chance, attempt to remove chance from our lives, or resign ourselves to inaction or insanity.
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