I think that the views expressed in “Is Everything
Determined” and “The Ten Virgins” are similar because they both touch on the
subject of uncertainty. Stephen Hawking
believes “the uncertainty principle of quantum physics means that there is not
just a single history for the universe but a whole family of possible
histories.” These different multiple histories lead to the randomness in our
lives. “The Ten Virgins” parable teaches
us that we must be prepared for uncertainty. When the foolish virgins asked God
to open the door, He said, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor
the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” This means that the time of Jesus’
return is uncertain. The foolish virgins did not bring any oil to light their
lamps; therefore, they were not prepared for his return. The way the views are
expressed in these readings are very different. Hawking’s ideas on determinism
are written out like a persuasive essay.
He presents us with an argument, makes claims, explains why his claims
are true, and then he summarizes his argument in a conclusion. He also takes a scientific
approach when explaining whether or not everything is determined. For instance,
he uses evolution and the development of DNA as examples to help him explain
whether or not anything we say is determined by theory. The parables are much
more spiritual and religious. They place
a lot of emphasis on God and how He can determine different outcomes throughout
our lives.
Pre-determination is a concept that haunts humanity with its ability to leave one questioning the very essence of ones existence. In Stephen Hawking’s persuasive lecture based on the theoretical assumption of a grand unified theory, “Is Everything Determined?” Also included in Hawking’s essay collection "Black Holes and Baby Universe", he attempts to persuade his audience by noting multiple seemingly debatable reasons as to why humanity’s actions are not pre-determined. Within Hawking’s provided examples he continues to back up his argument by drawing attention to an obvious objection to the grand unified theory.”…anything we say is also determined by the theory. But why should it be determined to be correct? Isn't it more likely to be wrong, because there are many possible incorrect statements for every true one?” In "The Parables of the Kingdom" these parables represent multiple instances of men and women choosing to follow the wrong paths, oblivious to the right or wrongs he/she may be committing. Reading the parables with predetermined thoughts will lead to the tendency to miss essential facts within the parables. Although these parables differ from Hawking’s lecture as they are meant to help individuals to understand the meanings behind following God and believing in the power of the grand unified theory, the parables leave the readers questioning further. In “The Ten Talents” three servants are temporarily entrusted with their master’s talents, two servants double the talents they received while one fears the master and buries the talent, this lead to the brutal judgment of the third servant. While the third servant believed he/she was in the right, the master’s response proved otherwise as, “You wicked and slothful servant!” This is similar to Hawking’s lecture as it proves the different possible actions one chooses to make are completely made by ones “free-will” due to the endless possibilities of pleasure or disappointment to others affected.
ReplyDeleteIn this section there are many similarities and differences between each of the stories we have read in this section. They are all about us trying to make sense of the universe we live in and it is interesting to think about but very difficult to grasp and fully understand. In “Zen Parables” and “Existentialism” there are different meanings to the concept of how we should live our life by the rules or do what we believe is right by our own values. These two readings are showing different ways to figure out the “way of life” in their own way by teaching lessons. In “Is Everything Determined?” by Stephen Hawking he believes almost everything can be determined by laws of science. He states “..we may find a complete unified theory in as little as twenty years…determined by the laws of science”. Showing he truly believes science and research can solve the “problems”. We also read the passage names “Parables of the Kingdom”, which “The Ten Virgins” was an excerpt of. This was about a religious aspect of the concept dealing with the universe, or as you stated being prepared for uncertainty. It is organized by telling three stories, as in “Zen Parables”, about life lessons. They use stories from the Bible to organize the line, allowing lessons to be learned through stories of events instead of a passage form. You can tell that they are from the bible because of how the language is spoken throughout the stories. For example “And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
ReplyDeleteI agree that both "Parables of the Kingdom" and "Is Everything Determined?" share similar ideas of uncertainty. Their deliveries and tone seemed to be kind of similar to me. Stephen Hawking gives leeway room for there to be multiple possibilities, yet there will always be a right answer. He says "Isn't it more likely to be wrong because there are many possible incorrect statements for every true one?" The example you used of the parable of The Ten Virgins relates to this as well. Half of the virgins did the "right" thing while the other half did wrong. The idea of choice is very well present in both of these pieces. Hawking closes his essay with this sentence : "...Is everything determined? The answer is yes...But it might as well not be because we can never know what is determined." I had to reread this statement multiple times before it finally clicked. What I took from this statement is that everything may already be determined, but whatever people define as "determined" can vary based on the journey they take to get to what's been determined. Its confusing to try to express, so lets try looking at it in this way; there are a variety of paths that will eventually lead to what is determined for each individual. The main difference I noticed with the two pieces was the speed in which each author got to their point. Hawking took his time in defining each point then came to a collective conclusion at the end. Jesus seems to give a summary of each parable (as if recounting a memory) with the minimal amount of information necessary. Both are effective, and it just goes to show two different paths taken towards delivering a similar message.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that "Parables of the Kingdom" and "Is Everything Determined?" both shared similarities of touching on the subject of uncertainty. "The Ten Virgins" parable was coming from a religious view about how we always need to be prepared for when God is coming because nobody knows when it will happen as it says in the parable, so we need to stay prepared. The meaning of this story is just being prepared for uncertainty. The Prodigal Son and The Ten Talents were also about how people were taking on wrong paths and are just a teaching of how one should live. Throughout Hawking's writing it seems as if he is just trying to prove to us that nothing is predetermined. I also agree with you on how you think that the two readings are different. They both are written a different way with Hawking's being more like a strict essay with examples and analysis and then the Parables are obviously coming at things from a religious view of teachings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you both readings have similarities talking about uncertainty. In "The Ten Virgins" it talks about how the 5 not so smart virgins are uncertain on what Jesus will do if let them in or not. In " The Prodigal Son" the son has an uncertainty in his future. In "Is Everything Determined?" the reading talks about how determination exists but in different theories Hawthorne talks about.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea of the similarities and differences between the two readings, Is Everything Determined? and Parables of Kingdom. I would also like to add my thoughts of how I think they are different and similar as well. The idea of free will is expressed similarly in both readings. In Stephen Hawking’s Is Everything Determined?, he brings up the idea of free will and how it would be nonexistent if everything is predetermined. He states that “…God would know what was going to happen. But how then could we have free will?”. By stating this he is creating the argument that if God knows everything that is going to happen before it happens then how can we have free will? Hawking then states, “… so it is difficult to see how we can be masters of our fate.” In the Parables of the Kingdom the reading of “The Ten Virgins” touches on the concept of free will. It is a story of five foolish and five wise virgins that go to meet the bridegroom. Before they set out on their journey, “they that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” The idea of free will is not expressed in this passage is because some of the virgins were foolish while the others were not. Because they were foolish they did not bring oil, they did not choose to be foolish but were predetermined to be foolish. I agree with your state of the differences between the two articles being approached from two different perspectives. Hawking of course takes a more scientific view when discussing freewill while the other article take a more religious perspective.
ReplyDeleteI agree that both readings have a theme of uncertainty. In Stephen Hawkings, "Is Everything Determined?" he says, "even people who claim that everything is predestined and that we can do nothing to change it look before they cross the road." This shows that even people who believe everything is determined have uncertainty when it comes to their own lives. In "The Ten Virgins" the virgins were uncertain when the bridegroom would arrive; when he did, the 5 foolish virgins were not prepared and then were not granted access to the wedding banquet. This shows that everyone must be prepared for life's uncertainties.
ReplyDeleteWell I do agree that they are both based on uncertainty and free will. I think that they all describe free will in a way as well. In Is Everything Determined he talks about how people think that God preordains things and that there is no such thing as free will but he states "these laws may have been ordained by God. But it seems that He (or She) does not intervene in the universe to break the laws." This proving that though "rules" might have been preordained we still have choice and He/She doesn’t intervene with that. Also shows how what is going to happen is uncertain. If He/She doesn’t intervene in our choices then He/She will be uncertain of our outcome. In The Ten Virgins there were five wise virgins and five foolish, "The wise took oil on their vessels" and the others didn't. Don't you think that is a choice? The bridegroom told them what to do to be ready and some chose to do as told and some decided not to. Whether they came prepared is up to them. Just like in The Ten Talents, a man gave "five talents, to another two, to another one." Though the talents were preordained each one chose to either create five or two more with them or just bury the talent. In The Prodigal Son the youngest chose to leave and struggle and the oldest chose to stay and not. They all exclaim this free will that Stephen Hawking describes. And how things might have been preordained by rules but never in the choices. The differences are one’s more scientific and the other is story based. Also the other is a religious view of freewill and preordained. Stephen Hawking’s view talks about theories and how they could be wrong. When and if there are too many outcomes to become certain. While the others use a story to tell you an idea or theory.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that both of the reading share a similar aspect which is that nothing is determined. Steven Hawking uses an essay format to answer this question saying that the course of the universes history is random which i agree with. There is so much research and theories supporting this claim but because they are just theories they cannot be fully proven. "In the ten virgins" we are taught to be always prepared for uncertainty. The differences however is how these stories are presented to the reader. One is a fable with a moral at the end, and the other is a scientific essay explaining the randomness of the universe and everything inside it: backed by scientific evidence.
ReplyDelete