THE THEORY OF DETERMINISM AND ITS IMPLICATION ON THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF FREEMASONRY By Bro. Bassous Cadmus Lodge No. 1002
F
or some of us, the philosophical theory of Determinism and its implications on freewill and on our understanding of the Great Architect of the Universe may be uncomfortable or disturbing, because it implies a loss of control—a feeling which no one really likes. As humans, we are under the influence of our own respective sociocultural backgrounds including religious precepts. This is normal. Not only is this normal, but it actually determines our lives and influences how we see and approach life matters. However, we as Freemasons are seeking the Truth, and we have an obligation to perfect our understanding of the concepts that are fundamental to the Craft. Therefore, as free men, we must have the courage (courage is a very essential quality in our quest) to leave no stone unturned to continuously seek the Light. Thus, if we are truly free, no fear and no taboo may hinder our drive to make ourselves better. That is one of the essential missions of Freemasonry. This includes maintaining a critical eye on the beliefs and biases that we grew up with. We will evolve toward having more confidence in what we know, with stronger beliefs, a more solid knowledge that we can, in turn, communicate and share among us and beyond. “Determinism” is the doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. Some philosophers have taken determinism to imply that individual human beings have no free will and cannot be held morally responsible for their actions. For this to be true, determinism must be absolute, and although there are philosophical theories of partial
10 | THE VOICE OF FREEMASONRY ISSUE 3, 2020
determinism, only an absolute and perfect mathematical system of an infinitely intricate chain of causes and effects unfolding in a perfectly logical succession of events truly defines determinism.
Roulette is a game of chance, only so long as we do not master all the parameters that enable us to accurately predict where the ball will settle. We as humans can only attempt to examine a small chunk in the infinite timeline and attempt to comprehend determinism. It takes a perfect Being omniscience to muster the full sense of determinism. This Being would necessarily encompass the universe in its absolute entirety. I suppose you know who I am talking about. But we will get back to this thought later.
I will instead begin with an example that simplifies the concept. Here is an easy-to-grasp domino example in which an architect can devise a chain of events with a quasi-certain outcome: dominoes will make other dominoes fall, hitting a balance, causing it to pivot and spill a bottle of water, which then makes a boat sail, and so forth... this chain of events represents a predictable series of causes and effects that would unfold into an outcome that had been known in advance and are thus predetermined within a limited timeline, by a gifted, yet a small architect—a human architect, that is. Now let us take another example where the outcome is theoretically unpredictable. Everybody agrees that the game of roulette is a game of chance. That is to say that no one knows in advance on which of the 37 holes the ball will settle. The wheel spins, a ball is sent spinning in the opposite direction around the edge unit it loses momentum and hits the spinning wheel and its holes until it settles in one of them. Now let us imagine a scientific tool, a powerful computer that can analyze a great
