u/Easy-Possibility8635

Recently I made a post on the "changemyview" sub about determinism/the lack of free will. We were all for the most part having a healthy debate on the subject for all about 20 minutes before the mod there deleted my post for "not being open to change my view". Help me out if I'm wrong here, but I would assume the concept of "changemyview" is to present a subject matter you feel strongly about and ask peers to "change your view" with valid points that challenge your own. Well, I guess if you don't fold within the first 20 minutes & instead choose to present peers with counters to their arguments then you're "not open to changing your view".

This blew my mind and really opened my eyes to what some of these subs seem to be: echo chambers. If even in a sub that "encourages" healthy debates deletes posts in which people show the slightest bit of resistance, I can only imagine subs that don't encourage these exchanges. Very unfortunate because it truly can be such a great platform.

My unpopular(maybe popular) opinion: give the moderator jobs to AI. At least there'd be no emotion, bias or power trips involved that way.

So I was in an existential thought bubble recently & I came to a realization. Rather, I formulated a belief I feel quite strongly about & later found it to be quite a popular philosophy called Determinism. I'm interested in hearing others thoughts on this subject. That is: Are we slaves to our desires, experiences & bodies. Are we truly in control of anything? Is life just a lottery on a grand scale?

First, let's build up to this from the ground up. Who are we? What makes you, you? I believe we are a product of our bodies/genetics & our experiences. If I was born into, say, Trumps body & went through all his life experiences, well, I'd be Trump. This is, actually to say, we can't blame Trump for being Trump. This way of thinking has helped me with self deprecating thoughts and on the flip side of that coin, it keeps me humble & empathetic of those whom I may feel judgmental towards. For example, let's speak on a universally hated group of people: pedophiles and murderers. I'm not condoning their actions, I'm just saying we're truly ignorant if we think we can judge even those people. If we were to instead try to understand one another and why we do the things we do, the world would be a better place. That being said, judgement or not, those people have to go, for the good of society. Sorry for w.e. you went through in life that made you this pedophile/murderer but you have to go bud. It's not judgement, it's just getting rid of something toxic. Our white blood cells don't judge a virus & shun it for being what it is before getting rid of it. They simply dispose of it for our well being.

To some this might read as a cop out from someone who made some poor life choices & Tbf I am the black sheep in my family. I am a recovering addict & I've definitely made some regrettable decisions. I'm not trying to dodge accountability I have no problem with that, however are we truly accountable? Suppose at this very moment we're at a bbq & I ask if you'd like a burger or a hot dog. Whichever you choose at this very moment will always have been your choice if we were to return to this very moment. On Sunday, May 31st, 2026 @ X time you will always choose a hamburger because all your life experiences leading up to that moment have conditioned you to choose that hamburger. Its trippy asf.

Adopting this ideology may be depressing at first but ultimately I think it would be beneficial to you and everyone around you. You'd try to be more understanding & forgiving of others and yourself when mistakes are made. One could argue this philosophy could deter growth due to being less hard on yourself & I would agree with that concept when I first formulated this. However I have never been more productive & accomplished more personal growth. This does get really tricky because I understand some people can use this opinion & spiral into an ongoing toxic unchecked behavior "due to circumstance". While others may experience growth and compassion they've never experienced before. It's hard to articulate but I hope you all get it for the most part. Let me know your thought.

Edit: I made this post on another sub & learned this is called Determinism. Moreover, I concluded if there is in fact no such thing as free will, this would make sin an impossible concept. Not only can we not judge ourselves, but not even "God" can judge us for being what he created us to be.

So I was in an existential thought bubble recently & I came to a realization. Rather, I formulated a belief I feel quite strongly about & I'm interested in hearing others thoughts on this. That is: Are we slaves to our desires, experiences & bodies. Are we truly in control of anything? Is life just a lottery on a grand scale?

First, let's build up to this from the ground up. Who are we? What makes you, you? I believe we are a product of our bodies/genetics & our experiences. If I was born into, say, Trumps body & went through all his life experiences, well, I'd be Trump. This way of thinking has helped me with self deprecating thoughts and on the flip side of that coin, it keeps me humble & empathetic of those whom I may feel judgmental towards. For example, let's speak on a universally hated group of people: pedophiles and murderers. I'm not condoning their actions, I'm just saying we're truly ignorant if we think we can judge even those people. If we were to instead try to understand one another and why we do the things we do, the world would be a better place. That being said, judgement or not, those people have to go, for the good of society. Sorry for w.e. you went through in life that made you this pedophile/murderer but you have to go bud. It's not judgement, it's just getting rid of something toxic. Our white blood cells don't judge a virus & shun it for being what it is before getting rid of it. They simply dispose of it for our well being.

To some this might read as a cop out from someone who made some poor life choices & Tbf I am the black sheep in my family. I am a recovering addict & I've definitely made some regrettable decisions. I'm not trying to dodge accountability I have no problem with that, however are we truly accountable? Suppose at this very moment we're at a bbq & I ask if you'd like a burger or a hot dog. Whichever you choose at this very moment will always have been your choice if we were to return to this very moment. On Sunday, May 31st, 2026 @ X time you will always choose a hamburger because all your life experiences leading up to that moment have conditioned you to choose that hamburger. Its trippy asf.

Adopting this ideology may be depressing at first but ultimately I think it would be beneficial to you and everyone around you. You'd try to be more understanding & forgiving of others and yourself when mistakes are made. One could argue this philosophy could deter growth due to being less hard on yourself & I would agree with that concept when I first formulated this. However I have never been more productive & accomplished more personal growth. This does get really tricky because I understand some people can use this opinion & spiral into an ongoing toxic unchecked behavior "due to circumstance". While others may experience growth and compassion they've never experienced before. It's hard to articulate but I hope you all get it for the most part. Let me know your thought.

P.S. to my philosopher buffs Id like to hear what philosophers throughout history have shared this worldview.

So I was in an existential thought bubble recently & I came to a realization. Rather, I formulated a belief I feel quite strongly about & I'm interested in hearing others thoughts on this. That is: Are we slaves to our desires, experiences & bodies. Are we truly in control of anything? Is life just a lottery on a grand scale?

First, let's build up to this from the ground up. Who are we? What makes you, you? I believe we are a product of our bodies/genetics & our experiences. If I was born into, say, Trumps body & went through all his life experiences, well, I'd be Trump. This way of thinking has helped me with self deprecating thoughts and on the flip side of that coin, it keeps me humble & empathetic of those whom I may feel judgmental towards. For example, let's speak on a universally hated group of people: pedophiles and murderers. I'm not condoning their actions, I'm just saying we're truly ignorant if we think we can judge even those people. If we were to instead try to understand one another and why we do the things we do, the world would be a better place. That being said, judgement or not, those people have to go, for the good of society. Sorry for w.e. you went through in life that made you this pedophile/murderer but you have to go bud. It's not judgement, it's just getting rid of something toxic. Our white blood cells don't judge a virus & shun it for being what it is before getting rid of it. They simply dispose of it for our well being.

To some this might read as a cop out from someone who made some poor life choices & Tbf I am the black sheep in my family. I am a recovering addict & I've definitely made some regrettable decisions. I'm not trying to dodge accountability I have no problem with that, however are we truly accountable? Suppose at this very moment we're at a bbq & I ask if you'd like a burger or a hot dog. Whichever you choose at this very moment will always have been your choice if we were to return to this very moment. On Sunday, May 31st, 2026 @ X time you will always choose a hamburger because all your life experiences leading up to that moment have conditioned you to choose that hamburger. Its trippy asf.

Adopting this ideology may be depressing at first but ultimately I think it would be beneficial to you and everyone around you. You'd try to be more understanding & forgiving of others and yourself when mistakes are made. One could argue this philosophy could deter growth due to being less hard on yourself & I would agree with that concept when I first formulated this. However I have never been more productive & accomplished more personal growth. This does get really tricky because I understand some people can use this opinion & spiral into an ongoing toxic unchecked behavior "due to circumstance". While others may experience growth and compassion they've never experienced before. It's hard to articulate but I hope you all get it for the most part. Let me know your thoughts.

P.S. to my philosopher buffs Id like to hear what philosophers throughout history have shared this worldview.

So according to the Apocryphon of John, from my understanding, Yaldabaoth/Demiurge was an ignorant and flawed being. Not malevolent and conniving. It seems to me, he gets this "evil" rep when he's pretty much like us in relation to our lack of understanding of reality. He sounds more like an insecure, clingy partner that wants control over every facet of our lives. Which is not ideal but it's not inherently evil.

Perhaps Im being too forgiving. Its said he created us in the image of the beings he saw in the reflection of the water from the pleroma. Evidently he admired them, thus:

Does he refuse to bow down to another or is it the pleroma that refuses to acknowledge him & grant him pass to the fullness?

What does he gain from keeping us trapped here?

Finally, bit off topic but what are your theories on Yaldabaoth making Israel his chosen people? Did they just offer him most praise so he favored them? Perhaps, there was another reason?