Thou Art Physics

Abstract

The common perception of a conflict between deterministic physics and free will stems from a flawed cognitive model that places the agent (“Me”) and “Physics” as separate, competing causes determining the “Future”. A more accurate representation understands the agent, with its thoughts, decisions, and actions, as an integral part of the physical universe, not an entity external to it. Consequently, physics determining the future inherently includes the agent’s causal role within that physical system. This perspective suggests that agency, choice, and responsibility do not merely coexist with determinism but actually require a lawful, ordered reality to be meaningful. Without the regularities described by physics, purposeful planning and action would be impossible. Therefore, physics constitutes the substrate for our choices and actions, rather than negating them. Perceived incompatibilities arise from cognitive errors in modeling levels of organization, not from a fundamental conflict in reality. – AI-generated abstract.