Has anybody else picked this up yet? It’s really done a number on me. Prior to reading it I would consider myself a Stoic. One of my central philosophies being that “The choices I make define who I am”.
So obviously being told that my choices were never even mine to begin with was kind of a slap in the face.
It rings true though. The choices we make at any given time are a result of our genetics, or environment, the media we’ve consumed, how tired we are…
I’m not a stranger to the concept of Ego death but it had been a hot minute since I thought about it.
Think of it this way; it is YOU who are making those choices, they are YOUR choices, it’s just that it was predetermined that you would make that one specific choice. Our environment, the way we were raised influences our choices and so the past in a way determines the future. If you want to get into the physics of it all, randomness does exist but as far as we know only at a quantum level; the bigger events are deterministic in nature. And about the whole crime/punishment thing just as someone “had no choice” but to commit a crime, the judge also “has no choice” but to punish that person. You are responsible for your own choices, it’s just that they are predetermined.
Also, it still makes sense to punish for wrongdoing because that act will lead to less negative outcomes in the future, both on an individual and larger scale.