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Does science allow for free will?
Joachim Ostermann, OFM: Special to the
WCR
May 6, 2011
In science, the
outcome of natural processes is either random or determined by the
laws of nature. And scientific inquiry has proven itself to be very
powerful in explaining the world and how it came to be the way it
is.
Yet, as a Christian, I believe God is active in the world. All the
world is the result of God's creative initiative. How can there be
causes that are not determined by the laws of nature that science
has discovered?
First, it is important to recognize that science has limits, even
within its own domain of natural processes. Some processes in nature
appear to be chaotic. They are so sensitive to even the smallest
error that we can no longer predict their outcome.
Furthermore, at the atomic scale of matter, at the scale of chemical
and biochemical processes, we discover an even more fundamental
limit. Making measurements and predictions with perfect accuracy
becomes entirely impossible.
This imprecision and randomness is built into the foundations of the
world, together with the laws of nature. Even if we knew everything
that there is to know about nature at any point in time, we could
still not predict with perfect precision what happens next.
LAWS OF PHYSICS
Science explains the world from the bottom up, beginning with the
parts and ending with the whole. The rules that determine bottom-up
causality are the laws of physics and related sciences.
Bottom-up causality explains the movement of planets out of the
gravity that acts between them and the sun. It explains chemical
reactions out of the electromagnetic force between atomic nuclei and
electrons.
Bottom-up causality is the stuff of science as we know it. But, as I
indicated above, science has its limits. Some things are left
undetermined, which gives them the appearance of randomness.
I wonder whether there can be another kind of causality - the whole
acting on its parts, or top-down?
I think that the human experience of free will is strong evidence
for it. The existence of free will in human beings is experienced as
an obvious fact, and it calls for an explanation. Yet, it cannot be
explained by the science that we know.
Free will seems to be impossible to explain with the laws that
determine bottom-up causality. Those who believe that bottom-up
causality is all there is, and this includes a great many
scientists, often conclude that free will is no more than an
illusion.
ADDITIONAL CAUSES
However, there is no need for this conclusion. By being limited in
its scope and accuracy, bottom-up causality remains open to
additional causes other than the laws of physics.
Therefore, the randomness found in nature is actually important.
Human freedom in the natural world is possible because there is both
randomness and lawfulness in bottom-up causality.
It is necessary to have both. If all were fully determined by laws,
there could be no freedom, as nothing could be done differently. If
all were left to chance, human freedom could have no consequences,
as nothing could have predictable outcomes.
So the results of scientific investigation do not at all question
the reasonableness of the Christian faith. Actually, it all fits
together quite nicely. In my opinion, understanding human freedom
and of the interplay between top-down and bottom-up causality will
be the most interesting question to follow for those interested in
science and religion.
(This article was originally published on Brother Joachim's online
blog where he writes about science and religion:
brotherjoachim.blogspot.com) |
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More writings by Pierre
Ducharme, OFM can be found on
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