I am writing a mini series of three writings on geometric morality philosophy. His name was taken from the opening statement of Spinoza's book, Ethica. I will write the views of famous thinkers on various concepts and situations and try to examine these views.
"The existing design of life responds neither to consciousness nor to the needs of the mind. Imagine a dove in a corn field. Ninety-nine of the pigeons are gathering corn with a bull. But instead of using it to get what they need, they accumulate it in a big chunk. They don't give a lot of corn to themself. Imagine hiding this mass of corn in the name of the most worthless and the worst in the lot. Then the pigeons make a ring and they sit and watch that single pigeon that is hacking this fortune. Imagine, at the end, the weakest dove in them, unable to stand up to hunger and try to get one from the stack without permission. They all attack him and punish him. If you can visualize it in front of you, you can understand the daily behavior of mankind." says William Paley.
For Paley's short story and the basic point she wants to tell, Tolstoy said, "People are logical creatures. Why, instead of relying mind in relationships, they resort to violence so easily?" as a question. So far, we've met with three key words to watch out for. Punishment, Pigeon and Violence. I specifically mention them because the continuation of the article will be based on these three words and their common point.
Pigeon Superstition
In cases where the human brain is experiencing or is in a situation where it is encountered, the cause-and-effect pattern is always searched. A person who thinks of the existence of free will and wants to believe it enters into a search for causality, especially in bad things that happen to him. This is not just about us, it is also observed in animals. And this situation observed over pigeons is called Pigeon Superstition. Mr. Nobody movie has a nice opening scene on this subject. If you haven't just watched the movie, I would recommend watching it at the first opportunity. It's a movie that will question your choices.
Plotinus, an ancient Greek philosopher, has a good word on this subject:
"All our ideas will be determined by an earlier chain of causes; personal actions are not real, since we are determined by these ideas. As long as our actions are predetermined by these reasons, we have to be our tool is not enough to save our freedom."
In the case of Paley, there is injustice, exploitation and violence. A totalitarian pigeon not only allows others to work for himself, but also allows them to maintain this order. How can pigeons get rid of it if the situation is as Platinus said, if the events are purely causal and there is no such thing as free will?
Punishment and Injustice
It is really enjoyable to read Plato and Socrates who adopt and implement the system of dialectical thinking. You can see a sharp intelligence among the words. Plato makes the following definition for the concept of justice in a book, "Justice is to give everyone what is appropriate for him."
If the pigeon believes that the thing given to him is the most ideal thing for him ... What if a courageous pigeon sees the wrongness of this situation and deserves what it deserves as opposed to being presented? It is punished by other pigeons like the example of Paley. Can he blame these pigeon friends who are punished, violent, even though they are right? In the end, he has suffered an injustice, and this must be a reward. But what kind of punishment would be fair for them if there is no free will as Platinus says?
Violence and Power
"Who fights with monsters should be careful. Because it will be a monster." says Friedrich Nietzsche. In Paley's example, the pigeon who wants to take what is right is punished and violent by others. This is actually a situation that is constantly confronted in everyday life. It's like the kings always support the monarchy. What should a person do if there is no system of justice to appeal?
In such circumstances in history, the party that receives the injustice gains power. In order to stop the people he struggles with, he starts to turn into the person he struggles with after a certain point. Here again there is a causal relation as the determinist thinker emphasizes. Just as Descartes is in the case of the King and the Duel. So if we accept the notion that there is no free will, the notion of justice collapses. Every punishment will be unfair. Hence, in order to have a functioning justice system, first of all, there must be a free will. However, crimes committed on this point can be punished fairly.
