The licence plate number on Franz Ferdinand’s car referring to the end date of World War I may indicate that history is predetermined.(1) There are other coincidences in history that suggest the existence of a script, for instance those surrounding the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.(2) Some people are haunted by time prompts. They look at the clock at specific times, for instance 11:11. If this is not selective remembrance, this may indicate that their minds are controlled.
Perhaps this universe is a virtual reality created by an advanced civilisation. And perhaps everything is predetermined. If that is true then we don't have a free will. That may raise some questions.
The first question deals with fate. For instance, you may ask yourself, "If I am going to die on a certain day then what point is there in going to see a doctor when I fall ill?" Alternatively, you could opt for a dangerous hobby like climbing the Mount Everest because you believe that the date you meet the Grim Reaper is already set in stone.
Only, you don't know that date. So if you go to the doctor and he or she cures you from an illness that would otherwise have been fatal, that would be predetermined, but if you choose not to go to the doctor and subsequently die, that would also be predetermined. The same is true for getting killed while climbing the Mount Everest.
If there is an owner of this universe we can call God, and everything is predetermined, God can't inform us in detail about the future. Exact predictions can influence the future in such a way that something else will happen. For example, if I know I am going to have a car accident tomorrow I will remain at home tomorrow and the car accident would not happen.
Predetermination makes it possible to make predictions that are more accurate than chance allows for. Nevertheless, most predictions of that kind aren't accurate enough to be actionable. The action taken may even help to make the prediction come true. That requires actors being unaware of their role in the scheme. Some premonitions may be actionable, but it is not possible to know which ones on beforehand.
One specific type of premonition comes from people called prophets. Countless prophets have predicted that the end of times would come. That never happened, at least until now. But in 1979 an historian wrote a fictional story in which the Berlin Wall would fall in 1989. And on 11 September 2001 the BBC claimed that WTC building 7 had collapsed, but 26 minutes before it really happened.(2)
If the choices you make are predetermined, then so are the consequences of your choices. For us the laws of probability do seem to apply so that it may be a useful delusion to believe that doing something smart will more likely bring a favourable outcome than doing something stupid. Choices still seem to matter for us, even when they are part of a predetermined script.
Questions:
What could be the consequences of predetermination for 'the meaning of life'?
Do you have some other interesting observations regarding predetermination?
Featured image: Aruba sunset. English Wikipedia.
1. 'A II II 18': Franz Ferdinand's prophetic number plate. Sky News (11-11-2018) https://news.sky.com/story/a-ii-ii-18-franz-ferdinands-prophetic-number-plate-11551176
2. 11 September coincidences. The Plan For The Future (23-09-2018) https://theplanforthefuture.org/2018/09/23/11-september-coincidences/
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