THE KNUCKLEHEAD
'
S GUIDE TO COVENANTAL THEOLOGY
29
and more irrefutably, that free will does not exist. If free will exists
nonetheless, then we are forced to conclude that the harder we try to
understand reality, the more firmly we will be deceived about the truth
of the existence of free will. Either we are not free at all, or the best
human thinking, our most rigorous attempts to be clear about what is
true, will increasingly lead us straight toward what is not true.
The situation is thus identical to all the others:
"Free Will," over here,
and all rationality, everything we can
ever learn, discover, or think about,
over here.
Before further discussion, we should include one more classic
representation of the same assumption:
Faith
|
|
Reason
We need to be aware that this last is identical to Mr. Pinker's
solution, which amounts to:
Reason
|
|
Faith
We also need to be aware that Mr. Pinker's 'solution' is not limited
to 'free will.' The formal scheme used allows us to insert absolutely
anything into the 'place' reserved for "the thing that Reason shows us
can not be true."
[Insert your favorite irrational belief here] < - - - - -
and please place all rationality,
everything we can ever learn,
discover, or think about, over here.
Mr. Pinker's 'solution' thus amounts to total societal incoherence as
the price paid for continuing to 'believe' in "free will." Once we invent
a special class of 'reasons' which are contrary to reason, anything
goes. For exactly the same 'reason' that we are allowed to continue to
'believe' in 'free will,' we must allow some one else to continue to
'believe' that the earth is flat, that the moon is made out of green
cheese, that psychic crystal pyramids work -- or that we would all be
happiest if we spelled out, "Ben" (this being Ben's favorite 'belief').
N.B. This is an html-ized copy of a page from the pdf file, The Knucklehead's Guide to Covenantal Theology.