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But the fact that some humans break out of the crowd has to mean something don’t you think? Are you telling me that your behavior is based on instinct? Using nostr as an anon, stacking sats, and going against the status quo is not your free will?

Snotklap 6mo ago 💬 1

You’re assuming rebellion = freedom. But even rebellion has its roots.

Some are conditioned to obey. Others are conditioned to question.

The drive to stand apart, to stack sats, to seek truth anonymously... it too has causes: temperament, upbringing, trauma, books, chance, even brain chemistry.

You didn’t choose your nature. You didn’t choose your environment.

You didn’t choose to become the kind of person who questions.

The urge to break free is just another instinct.

So yes, I go against the herd. But not because I’m “free.” My behavior and thinking were shaped by childhood trauma caused by religion, control and narcissism.

People like Larken Rose, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Martin Butler, and others shaped my path.

I didn’t choose that path freely. I was thrown onto it.

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Discussion

MAHDOOD 6mo ago 💬 1

I didn’t say freedom. I said free will. It’s easier to conform and that’s what most of the masses do. So if it’s instinctual to conform, then non conformity wouldn’t be instinctual right?

Snotklap 6mo ago 💬 1

Not necessarily.

Conformity and nonconformity are both driven by instinct... just different instincts.

For some, safety and belonging dominate. For others, truth, rebellion, or distrust of authority take over.

One person fears exclusion, another fears submission. Both responses are conditioned. Neither requires free will.

Nonconformity feels like a choice... but it’s often just the result of different wiring, different wounds, different causes.

The desire to break from the crowd isn’t proof of freedom... it’s proof that your internal compass points somewhere else, and you didn’t install that compass yourself.

MAHDOOD 6mo ago 💬 1

Interesting perspectives

Snotklap 6mo ago 💬 1

Yes, I’ll leave you with this. You might find it interesting:

The idea of free will was born out of religious necessity. Early religious institutions needed a framework to justify moral responsibility, sin, and punishment.

If people were truly free to choose good or evil, then it made sense to blame, punish, and condemn those who disobeyed divine law.

Without free will, hell makes no sense... how do you punish someone for doing what they were always going to do?

So the doctrine of free will became a tool of control:

- It made people feel guilty for natural desires.

- It justified obedience and submission.

- It gave priests and rulers moral high ground.

Even after the fall of religion, this belief lingered in secular culture because it flatters the ego. It says: “You are in control. You are responsible. You are the captain of your soul.” It feels empowering... but it’s a myth inherited from a religious system built to exploit guilt.

MAHDOOD 6mo ago

I would add that free will and predestination are contradictory as well. How can you have free will if god already planned everything and knows what you will do? Makes no sense