Free Will and the End of Evil

Will Power

Some people believe that humans do not actually have free will but that everything we do is planned out before we are born. First of all let's get this in the proper context. This belief that there is a higher power controlling us is true in a sense but it is not someone outside of us. We have to look at the human brain to completely understand Will.

The amygdala is the part of the brain that is the center of emotion, fear and aggression. If not for the frontal and temporal lobes keeping the amygdala in check we would be like most other animals not able to control our violent impulses. In this sense we absolutely have free will to manage the fear based impulses and thoughts that arise from events in our lives unless there is something very wrong with our brain.

It is interesting that in the stories of the bible, Jesus was said to have removed seven demons from Mary "Magdalene". Mari is a title like queen. Magdalene sounds very much like amygdala. Is this a coincidence? Was this actually a lesson in how to master one's demons by mastering the amygdala? Seven demons correspond to the seven sins and the seven chakras of the body; lust, greed, gluttony, sloth, vengeance, jealousy and pride. Could it be that Jesus Christ represents the higher thinking processes that allows us to override our animal nature by using compassion and empathy. The Serpent could also represent the Reptilian Brain in charge of our survival instincts.

Without will we would not be human. We need will to control our behavior. We can even control which thoughts we dwell on and whether or not we allow our emotions to rule our behavior. What we call evil could become a thing of the past through brain entrainment. But does that mean we would have to give up free will?

Scientifically it is possible to override the fear based emotions that cause aggressive behavior. Through practice we can learn to choose to tame our impulses and make better choices. But some people are psychotic. Scientists can see where certain areas of the brain correspond to psychotic tendencies. It would be much more difficult to entrain the brain of a psychotic but not impossible. Regardless these tests do not override free will but change one's choices through conditioning. Humans will usually choose a pleasant sensation over a bad one so they use mild shocks to subtly change the way one thinks and responds.

As we delve deeper into the psychology behind free will and what it truly means to live in a world without violence we can see that free will is is part of the equation. How far will we go to control the minds of humanity for the sake of living in a world free of evil? One interesting fact is that there is less evil behavior in the world relatively speaking that in the past according to researchers. How they know this I am not sure. But this seems to be the most overall peaceful time in the history of humankind. Could it be that we are evolving evil out of our DNA anyway?  Only time will tell. The future is wide open and humans are blessed with the opportunity to bridge the sensual world with higher consciousness behavior. Why not take it? Evil is so last eon.  One thing for certain is that we have the free will to choose how we go into the future, masters of our animal nature or victims of it.

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