Hello everyone. Today I would like to take some time to talk about time… again. I’ve made a video about it in the past but for this I want to narrow in on specific concepts surrounding the construct.
Time is a construct, or invention, that we humans use to measure the reality of motion. Motion goes forward. We are perpetually progressing via vibrations that happen to mass. Time as it is described here is inevitable. Everything that happens is because of time. Without time, there would be no existence; that’s how foundational the concept is to our understanding of reality. When people say the only certainties in life is death and taxes, what they mean is that the only certainty is time, and taxes. Time is what always was and will always be.
Now with that cookie cutter explanation of time out of the way, let’s get into my opinion piece! I believe that we most likely live in a box universe, which is to say that all of time is determinant. The universe, from its start to its conclusion could all be housed in a higher-dimensional cube, and I believe that’s where it is. However, I understand and realize two things about my belief: one, that thinking this way, that it is all already determined, unfortunately destroys most people’s morale and sense of agency in their life. People think to themselves, “Well, if it doesn’t matter what I do because it’s already certain, then why bother?” And I say, why bother? But the outcome is set- that we all die. And in popular Christian believes, there’s a thing called God’s plan, which is like almost the exact same thing as determinism, so where’s this glum attitude coming from? But I digress.
My second point is that I have a naturally incredible ability of compartmentalization, albeit it’s probably just by having a bad memory, and that allows me to have this belief, and also not be shattered by it on a day to day level.
With this in mind, why do people hold onto the concept of free will? Logically, it must be because they believe in an infinite universe theory, whether they know that or not. So many possibilities and with each of them, there is a universe in which that possibility is fact- is history. But with my personal belief of time, is there any point to past possibilities? Take for example certain films. As a film buff I love to hear about how some movies almost happened. During the preproduction stage, many large budget films start out a certain way until they are rewritten, recast, or are completely re-changed to be something else entirely. It’s really fun to look at this, but at no point do I think to myself “Aw man what could’ve been!“ All of that possibility dies the moment actual reality hits, and then the rest is history. Everything that was going to happen is what was always going to happen. Take for example the Cold War. There was a moment when the entire world almost exploded, but for the chance of a young, submarine officer to choose NOT to launch a nuke on the mistaken idea that America had launched one first, and it saved the world. I do not believe there is a possible world where he actually fired it, and we all died.
So to reiterate, all past events and all future events were always going to happen and are always going to happen the way that they did and do. Our choices and preferences were and are set to play out exactly as they are and were because of previous events both within us and from outside variables that influences us. Not just circumstantial events, but long threads of events; like a development of alcoholism in your family line starting 7 thousand years ago that influences you today, or certain conversations that don’t directly influence your worldview, but subtly influence your emotional reactions to things said by certain people who look or act a certain way.
In saying all this I hope to impress this: that we cannot know the future. It is not something we would easily be able to know, as it would require a machine the size of the universe to observe the motion of all atoms in the universe, in order to properly calculate future actions- from predicting hurricanes to predicting your feelings at 8:13pm on a Wednesday two years from now. I believe it is absolutely possible mathematically for these things to be predicted in theory, but just practically not possible nor will ever be possible. That is what the box universe describes and what I believe. Time means that we are determinate, and we live in a determinate universe, something we could know the end of, just that there are so many complicated variables that the determination is hidden to us until the present moment happens, and becomes history.
So what do you think of the box universe theory? Do you see this concept as compelling? Or do you not believe in it? Do you think we live in an infinite multiverse? Please let me know either way. I love discussing this stuff. Thank you for your time, and as always, I wish you nothing but love, and wish you all sleep well, fellow primates, until next time.
The Joe Van 