Free Will vs Determination (fate)

[ethic]

Recently I have been attempting to sort out whether or not we have free will to live our lives as we please, or if we have a determined path that we follow which is unchangeable. After riding the bus home and thinking it over for 5 or so minutes I arrived at a conclusion. I believe that both exist and apply to everyone. In order for these to exist, rather coexist we need to take a broader look at our linear time system. If we examine this question from the present frame of reference we have free choice.

I fully believe that when a person is living in the “now” or present that they are fully granted free will. We have the ability to choose the direction our lives take. The present is where we as humans (since we cannot control linear time) have the power to affect and change everything our abilities allow us to.

So where does fate step in? It all depends on the frame of reference in which you view your life. At the smallest and greatest level the universe is one. Past, present and future only exist because of the creation of linear time measurement. At the universal level everything “is.” You are, I am. Past, present and future is the same. Events in the future effect the past

Here is where fate steps in. When examining your life from a pre-birth frame of reference your life has already been determined. The next logical question is “by what?” They are determined by the choices that are made “now” in the present. Examining your life from the post death or future frame of reference, the path your life took was determined by the choices made in the present.

ideas? opinions?

[starseed]

damn. well, let me start by saying that humans are stuck defining our existance here by the years that have passed. we are 3-dimentional beings, we have no choice. but already know that the fabric of the universe is composed of a bare-minumum of 4: the 3 we can travel in, plus time. this supports your statements about the predetermination of our lives being based upon the fact that we are stuck in a 3-d existance. but there are theories that describe at least 5-6 dimentions, with relatively decent evidence supporting them. (well, as good as theoretical astrophysics can support something) time travel? fiction to us, but who knows, to some other species it's just another way to get around. i don't really know much about the other dimentions, but i seem to remember something about travel not only thru time, but basically a sort of "traveling without moving" kind of thing.

i have a magazine that describes this: basically it says imagine something like an ant that is incapable of anything other than forward/backward and left/right movements. now imagine walking up to it and picking it up. it wouldn't know what the hell was going on. basically, this describes our inability to fathom time travel.

now consider the possibility of time-traveling beings. how would they measure their life-spans? even with time travel, your body would still age, but wouldn't that make statements like "i'm 19" completely meaningless?

k, i'm done talking out my ass now.