Free-Dumb

Slaves no more!
we are free!
Free!
Free?
Are we? - Carson Howard

Is there any justification for believing that human beings are free? Will sweet freedom come my way?

Donkey before the cart, first things first, before attempting to find justification for human beings being free, if there is any justification to be found, we are going to have to sort out what we mean by ‘free human being.’ We will define such a human being as one who possesses free will, and, just to cover all bases, free will will be defined as the ability to consciously and independently make choices, decisions and commit actions without prior cause, coercion and/or divine intervention, in other words do as you please without being told, otherwise prompted, the divine intervention of God/god(s) or without some thing in late or recent, social or personal, history influencing the action/deed.

 T_*

Free will is a topic which has plagued the minds of man from time immemorial across many disciplines: philosophy, theology, physics (theoretical) and more. What is it about freedom and by extension the free will of human beings that has caused such constant rumination and discussion?

The essence of human freedom is the fundamental problem of philosophy and therefore the question about human beings being free is the fundamental question of philosophy.¹ - Martin Heidegger

Being an amateur philosophe I will (try to) get all philosophical and shit. When speaking about free will one will inevitably hear about Determinism and determinist, if not by that fancy academic term, by the points of their arguments and the tenets beliefs which are, the actions and thoughts of a person are not freely created or committed but are predetermined by various factors ranging from that persons socialisation, their genetic inheritance or socio-biological makeup and environment and education, and politics, etc. There are two types of these determinist people; hard determinist, who believe completely in predestination and that no person can therefore be held morally accountable for any deeds he or she commits, good or bad. The second type are the soft determinist who believe that there is some compatibility with determinism and free will, manifested in acts of compulsion, consent and intent < which I think is like those choose-your-ending type books that were popular sometime ago, the story is written your choices are limited to a set of predetermined outcomes ( I could be wrong; never read one of those books).

There is no doubt that the average human being believes in free will, our belief in our own free will is necessary to our very (structured and defined social paradigm of an) existence; this is what we have been led to believe, here in the “civilised west”. From the liberal, anti-establishment, rebels (Occupy this and that) to the most traditional and conservative of persons are firmly rooted in the free-will paradigm. Capitalism, and democracy are based on human beings having free will; they need it to function really. The ‘American Dream’, one of the most powerful driving forces of the American way of life, is based on the concept of human free will. Democracy, the socio-political system wherein each individual is allowed to offer themselves to lead their country, the system wherein each individual has the choice to choose whom among those, who, by choice, offered themselves, should be allowed to govern over them and their country. Democratic countries are the ones where there is freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of association and the list of “freedoms” goes on. Freedom and choice are the core components of democracy, therefore the free will of its citizens is not just accepted as existent but a right inherently granted (btw if something is granted to you, it can be taken from you - just saying).

Even cultures/religions with predestination as a main philosophical tenet free will still manages to somehow creep in. Indian culture and the philosophy karma is an example of this. Karma is the idea that actions or deeds committed and their effects create the experiences of the future, present and the past, basically it is a cause and effect situation. The concept of karma found in Indian religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, makes room for the modifying of one’s karma by deeds one commits and therefore one can freely will to change one’s karma and change one’s destiny. So free will is all over the place, but is it a justifiable belief?

As we said earlier, determinist arguments for predestination include a person’s upbringing and socialisation and genetic inheritance as a type of mold or foundation for the type of person that that person will eventually develop into.

“At the point where you can predict my acts directly from my state of health or my social conditioning or what I have just eaten, you can stop treating me as a free being. And if you choose to predict them in this way, rather than trying to make sense of my point of view, then you are choosing to not treat me as free. You are merely regarding me as a thing, that is, as part of the surrounding process.”² -Mary Midgley

Predictions are made all of the time about human behaviour. Poor and underprivileged people will usually be the ones most likely to turn to a life of crime. The probability of an African American male from a poor, urban background ending up, undereducated and incarcerated in the American penal system is higher than that of an African American from a middle class, suburban background and is definitely higher than those for white Americans from any social bracket. You always hear about the child who accidentally killed or seriously injured his/her, usually his, friend after trying out some wrestling technique that they would have witnessed on television. It would seem then that certain factors, once in place would lead to a predictable outcome. From this angle life seems like a mango seed; plant the mango seed and you will get a mango tree, no matter how much you wish for mahogany, mango will bear.

So what about those folks who appear to react differently to those in similar environs or develop differently to those with a similar socialisation like the person who gets out of the ghetto and gets some money and moves into the suburbs, or the person raised among thieves but develops into a pious person, is this where free will comes into play? Soft determinist would claim yes and that this exemplifies the free will of human beings. Where one makes the conscious choice to do something one is not expected to do is the execution of free will. The hard determinist however will continue to say no and to argue that there was something in this person’s life, other than the visibly obvious, that would have determined their change. They would claim that while yes the person was raised by thieves that their social interaction outside of the thieves that raised them would have lead to their religious development or that maybe by seeing the negative effects of thieving on the people who raised them constantly hiding from authorities or constantly being arrested would have lead them to act differently. This argument by the hard determinist does however present room for a choice to be made by that person; whether to grow into a thief or to move away from it because of what they would have seen or experienced elsewhere. Even within Capitalism, where competition and freedom of choice for the consumer is needed, there is an element of predictability. The way products are marketed, the location of product sources like stores, are all dependent on the predictability of human behaviour.


In religion [read Christianity], the concept of seeking God and the kingdom of God is one which requires human freedom. According to Heidegger, freedom is independence from nature, meaning that human action is not caused primarily by the natural process. Heidegger also goes on to say that since freedom is independence from nature then it must also be independence from God and autonomy in relation to God. In this autonomy one can then develop a relationship with God, wherein one seeks God and acknowledges God.³


Is there any justification for human beings being free? Yes. On an average day, for the average person what determines what we eat? What makes us change our minds in the canteen line to have rice as opposed to the pie we were craving, there are no health issues for this person, no dietary problems, no bio-physical problems like stomach gas or anything to initiate that change from pie to rice, nothing except our own free will to choose, our compulsion. “I do not feel like going to the gym today.” Why not? There is no fatigue, no work to be done, no reason for not wanting to go to the gym other than because I do not feel the need to go. Modern human civilizations are based on the concept of free will and its existence, especially western, "developed" (that is another story) countries like the USA. The American dream was mentioned earlier and the American dream is the belief in a freedom that allows a person to achieve what they want to by hard work, by luck, by ‘being all that they can be”, regardless of one’s disposition at birth. The American dream is the idea that one can better one’s self and those around you if you try hard enough to; simply put the American dream is Hope. Hope is the belief in a positive outcome to the unlikeliest of circumstances moderated by the realization that nothing is certain.⁴ The democratic nations and institutions across the world offer hope, hope that one can be part of something bigger, hope that one can participate in the governance of one’s country, i.e. one can make the rules for him or herself. The poor, underprivileged, the oppressed, the minorities of a country are all promised hope and this hope is manifested in their choices, in their will to want better and to live above the expectations/predictions their society prescribes for them. Free will is justified because it is the core of civilisation as we currently know it, even the Buddhist can change their karma by good deeds.


So yeh free will justifiably exists, but it sure is not independent to predestination. Most human actions are the reactions to actions previously committed or events gone before, free will manifests itself when the course of action is not clearly defined or more than one course of action presents itself like the person raised by thieves but experienced a way of life outside of their upbringing. While free will exists and is justifiable, the question as to human freedom remains. For example, while people are “free” to choose a leader for their country, the felon has no such freedom, and while democracy promises a plethora of freedoms, like the freedom of speech, one is not free to slander a person. Any time you compromise these freedoms in the manners stated you are liable to be giving up your freedom within society to be punished ranging from fines and services, to incarceration and execution. So, yes it is justifiable to believe in human freedom, but as for it actually existing I beg to differ. As I commented to a friend sometime back, a dog on a plantation is no freer than a dog restricted to an apartment, it is just less restricted. Freedom within a parameter is not freedom. I would be so bold to even question if freedom exists at all? From a Kantian perspective even God, whom or whatever it may be, is duty bound to maintain this world and the natural order of things; what ever that is and if you believe in that sort of thing.





1. Martin Heidegger, The essence of human freedom: an introduction to philosophy (London. New York: Continuum, 2002)203.

2. Mary Midgley, The Ethical Primate; Humans, Freedom and Morality (London. New York: Routledge, 1994)164.

3. Martin Heidegger (2002) 4-5

4. David Straker, http://changingminds.org/explanations/emotions/hope.htm (Syque, 2002-2008).

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Fruit Baskets and Floral Arrangements

When I look into the Caribbean, and anywhere where the African resides, I see beauty and I am reminded of floral arrangements and fruit baskets :D. A plethora of people, ideas, ideals, philosophies and hues. I know people usually go to the rainbow as a metaphor for broad spectrum beauty, and it does fit my purpose, but the rainbow lacks the depth of diversity I'm trying to portray, and a fruit basket , with its grapes and oranges and plums and apples and mangoes, or the floral arrangement with the roses, and orchids, and oleanders just does it much better. But the fruit basket and the floral arrangement do all share the feature I'm going to highlight, they are all cut off from their roots, and as such their beauty is fleeting, if anything it represents a facade of something already dead, and at best dying.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey said that a people without knowledge of their history are like a tree without its roots, and I look around in this fruit basket and floral arrangement (yes I'm in it) and see no roots. I look beneath it at the foundation and see wicker lined with decorative tissue and cut stems in water and that green thing - no roots. A rooted mahogany tree does not ask whether or not it is a mahogany tree, it knows it. A polished mahoganhy chair may, however, need to be reminded every now and again of it mahogany heritage. Comedian Kat Williams did a joke about tigers in a zoo, wherein the tigers begin to question whether or not they are tigers or "vicious ass koala bears." Until a break in the zoo routine occurs, the tigers are a shell of themselves and in limbo where their self image is concerned.
Hello Black people!! We are the tigers. We are the beautiful, rootless fruits and flowers, we are dead to ourselves and unsure of our heritage. Honestly, unlike the self questioning tigers, most of us do not know it or accept it.

I did not want to talk about it, I was really trying to avoid the entire debate and maybe blog about music again, or something else, but I am here at 4 in the AM writing about it; bleaching!
I was in a few online debates about it and well Sade's "Another Rasta Rant", pretty much hit it up already, but then I was here vibsing in my magical FB music group and listening to Tarrus Riley's "Shaka Zulu Pickney" and felt the need to write.
Bleaching is once again being highlighted in the popular media here in the Caribbean thanks to the new stylings of Vybz Kartel and his unashamed attitude about the entire thing. Bleaching has, for years, been a matter highlighted time and time again the the Jamaican media, with newspaper articles, television news segments and television specials, each time portrayed as something affecting the poorest of the population. (The middle and upper middle classes have other, more discreet ways of skin lightening - marriage/breeding for example. The underlying mentality or rationale, however, is the same.)

There is a running train of thought in society that, the fairer the skin, or the closer to white that one is the more success you will have or at least the more avenues/oppurtunities are available to you. Given the historical context that society is built upon this maybe an ugly notion or thought to some, but a quiet real one, that is it a real perception that people have. The lighter skinned blacks are the ones that dominate the popular media, dem and dem good, pretty hair. As the girl in the video said, no one can tell her anything at night in the club because she is white. So I know there are many out there that think that we live in a "post-racial" era, lol, or in a "colour blind society - not yet folks. Take a look at these videos here below and see why the society, and note that when I say the society I mean the global society, is not yet post racial or colour blind.

Video one is British based. The creams are illegal in Europe, but only to sell regionally, but can be made and exported. If they are too dangerous for Europeans why would they not be too dangerous for the rest of the world? Note that in the video the seized shipment being smuggled back into Europe is coming from Africa.

 

Video 2 is not so much about bleaching, but the girl Jenna does highlight and manifest within herself, the mentality of society taken to the confused extremes that lead to bleaching.

 

Video 3 is the first part of Tyra's episode about bleaching and also highlights that it is a fairly long standing African American subculture as well. (notice that these women's faces appear more matted than actually lightened and this is what I meant about Bajan women's faces looking over washed)

Notice that this is not a Caribbean phenomenon but exists in the "post-racial" American society and Britain, and from what we can gather from the first video shown, the continent, Africa, as well. This is a problem present in all post-colonial and former slave societies. Interestingly enough, the places with highest cited usage are poorest of the countries on that list.
Until recently bleaching was unheard of, or at least not spoken about in the popular and news media and seemed to evade the public sphere here in Barbados. Honestly, I always used to wonder sometimes about some women I used to see with faces that did not seem to match the rest of their heads, not to mention their bodies, and I said to myself these resemble the bleachers I see in the Jamaican and other international media. I, however, also said to myself that I never heard about bleaching in Barbados and dismissed them as women inept at applying makeup properly or persons who over washed their faces (yuh know what I mean too, dem girls dat does be washing dem face every chance them get at school, especially right before they leave to go to town on evenings after school). Apparently, I was wrong because they were most likely bleaching, and it has been happening here for a long time, but as a girl told me, "nuhbody din studying nuffin so back den, is only now dat Kartel start up pun it dat people talking." It really should not be surprising though, considering the reasons for bleaching are: poor self image and a belief in the concept that lighter is better, that it would have a subculture presence in Barbados and be overlooked by the media and society.

Well niggas (omg he called us niggas), guess what?!?!          wait for it, wait for it...     it is time to wake up and stop this shit.
I know it is not as simple as "wake up and stop it". It most definately is not as simple as, "when Kartel moves on, so too will this trend," because by and large this is not merely a trend, there is nothing trendy about it. It is a serious psychological problem deeply entrenched in the psyche of a diaspora longtold that they are second, third and fourth class citizens, not of any particular country but of the world. This psychological problem is socially and culturally maintained as the result of the colonial and neo-colonial world paradigm.
The world cannot get to a post-racial or colour blind state when the past is yet to be overcome. James Brown's song cannot do it, Bob Marley cannot do it, Michael Jackson cannot do it, H.I.M. Haile Selassie I in his speech to the United Nations cannot do it, Barack Obama cannot do it, and the month of February sure as hell will do it. It is a problem historically rooted and the first thing that must happen is that that history has to be properly and fully understood. This means not leaving out the bad parts or misleading people with omittances, like some historians traditionally do, neither does it mean romanticising and skewing the oppressed side as some other historians do. From there you work on changing the social elements used, overtly and discreetly, to create and maintain the existing psyche and attempt to neutralise and reverse them. This can only be done once the contemporary situation is understood through its historical context, so remember that it is history first before attempting to correct.
One has to see that the mindset and rationale behind bleaching is not exclusive to bleaching, and that it is deeply institutionalised. It is so entrenched in fact that some parts of it are seen almost as natural features of modern, contemporary society. I do not have to list or highlight any examples, you know them. (if you are from Mars, or live the delusion of a colour blind world, just listen to some of the rationalising given in the videos. The girl Jenna from the first Tyra clip manifests some of those things)


As I said we are pretty and diverse like the fruit baskets and floral arrangements, and just as rootless and slowly moving to a wilting stage. It is time to be more like orchards and gardens; lastingly beautiful and firmly rooted. This is not just for my African/Black people, but all humanity, just love yourself and respect others. Big up yourself without belittling others, that is pretty much the answer really.

I just like live music, especially live reggae, ain't nothing like a stageshow. <3