FATALIS M OR FREEDOM 



still appealing to the same old gods of 

 chance and necessity (under new names) 

 as if they were omnipresent and omnipo- 

 tent, while their adversaries, in the biolog- 

 ical field, invoke still other, but unknown, 

 gods under the euphonious but meaning- 

 less names of entelechy, elan vital, or 

 some other symbol of uncaused action. 



Determinism (fate) and freedom still 

 perplex us. Human life is certainly con- 

 trolled to some extent by the forces of 

 nature in which we live and of which we 

 are part. We certainly do exert some 

 measure of control over the events of na- 

 ture and over our own conduct. What 

 Is the nature of this control? We enjoy 

 a feeling of freedom. Are we really free 

 in any sense? Is the control which we 

 actually exercise bound by natural laws 

 as the earth controls the orbit of the moon 

 in accordance with the laws of gravita- 

 tion, inertia, and other cosmic forces? 

 Are we actual causal agents, not merely 

 bits of mechanism passively shunted about 

 like the spindle of a loom? 



In actual practice progressive, construc- 

 tive men of all times have acted as if they 

 were real creative agents, and the mod- 

 ern social fabric is knit together, strength- 



" [14] 



