Freewill in Paradise Lost by Milton - Research Paper Example

Freewill in Paradise Lost Freewill has been discussed from time immemorial, where even scholars have been unable to come up with definitions and the available definitions of freewill have been left wanting. However, freewill is a crucial aspect in a person’s life, as it is even included in the bill of rights that person has in that one can exercise that which he or she believes stands for their beliefs and values in life. As a result, of the debate on freewill, the book Paradise Lost has been authored to represent the author’s impression of freewill and how it affects humankind, as well as its validity in life applications, which are the subject of this research. The book paradise lost depicts different forms of freewill and forces of manipulation that affect how man relates in relation to God. In this sense, the book and the author direct that freewill is not free at all, as it should be interpreted in a literal sense, but is instead a will that remains arbitral based on who you ask. This is shown clearly with illustrations from then authority of the king in puritan times, as well as the application of freewill in following God’s will. The section that draws up the arbitral sense of freewill is drawn and illustrated by the use of strong words that go to the extent to show then following freewill in the sense of being godly is not all free. This is because it is imposition of God’s will upon man, which in the first place is meant for to occur and is part of a design by God to be in power. As a result, there is no way that man exercises freewill in any way as all aspects of will are manipulated by God by design and by default, from the moment that one commences exercising it (Barfoot 176). In addition, the book stats that man’s exertion of freewill is by no means free as it is an act of obedience to God begging the question how freewill is meant to be freewill and how it is independent of God and His power, as well as how it should be defined. The definition of the term freewill in the book remains wanting in that it does not show a distinct definition that can be applied for the purpose of identification of the action that man engages out of sheer freewill. Instead, the whole ordeal of defining what freewill is turned into a means of showing how God works to exert freewill and how freewill is supposed to manifest itself for the glory of God. This is because the book shows that almost every aspect of freewill, including its practice, is for the glory of God, as none of it remains directly under the control of man at any given time. With this in mind, the book describes the application of freewill in antics used to ensure obedience and devotion to a high authority. It is in this case that freewill is brought out at as a challenge to God’s authority as it requires a clear definition and distinction between the ways to obedience and devotion without the use of the above-mentioned default and manipulation by God. This is not clarified in the book, but instead shows the Adam and Eve scene in separation, where there are the words saying that God towards thee has done his part do thine (Bizik 70). This part is a clear illustration of freewill at work, where God gives man freewill, by creating it in the first place and allowing the two to choose between the choices, they were given. The above illustrates that there is no way that freewill is existent, and that it is merely a convenience for human rights forums. The translation of the above statement, therefore, is that God is the master of all, and that there is no way that man has freewill as even the choices given to Adam and Eve are only bound by the will of God and His need for devotion and obedience by man towards Him. It is because of this that man’s will is not free as man’s will is subjected to God’s direction thus the mental faculties of man are not independent or free of the influence. Instead, man’s freewill is subordinate to God’s will and command, as well as system of beliefs and institutions that see to it that God’s will is fulfilled. The said institutions include the church, the threat of facing eternal damnation should one not follow the will of God, and they serve a great role in putting God’s concept of freewill in question. However, other factors in the same book relate to freewill, where freewill is shown to exist in paradise lost as the real essence of the existence of God. With this in mind, the book attempts to eliminate doubts of the existence of freewill by quoting the presence of god and the meaning of freewill, as well as the application of fate. The justification of the presence of freewill may not be well expressed as the definition remains lacking, but an aspect that is brought out based on a logical argument is seen. This is the argument of the role of freewill and the relationship with fate and defaults set by god in an attempt to ensure obedience and devotion. These two are used to show that freewill is existent because there is no predestined fate, but instead, freewill weaves fate (Mitchell 54). For freewill to be at work, or be exerted, there is need to be choices that are beyond the will of the provider of the choices, in order for the existence of freewill to be proved. However, this is not the case for paradise lost as all the options are provided by one being, God, who also sets the standards of what is expected of man, which is clear violation of logical principles of freewill, that are even illustrated in the quest for human rights. As a result, freewill is nothing but a sham, despite the mention of fate being of no consequence towards the application of freewill or lack of it thereof. Freewill is made to appear as a form of modern day hallucination, where nothing can be said to be free of external influence based on the depiction of parameters that influence will. With this is mind, religious institution play the largest role is seeing to it that the human will is manipulated to fit into the works of God and the works that the church believes should be followed, as well as the belief values and systems. As such, there is a distinct manipulation of freewill by the church and other leaders as seen in the book through intimidation by leaders, where the leaders enforce every aspect of freewill. This enforcement is not the literal practice or emphasis of the existence of freewill, but is rather the setting of parameters in which freewill should operate. This is similar to dictating to a person to engage in certain behavior, failure to which the consequences will be dire for whatever choice the person makes, which is essentially a violation of freewill. Therefore, it is taken to mean that the church is the resident representative of God and His power over humans, which further kills the possibility of having freewill or even exercising it. In addition to these institutions being an extension of the will of God, there is a distinct influence or rather a negative force against the existence of freewill through the application of persistent laws and rules to govern the behavior of man. This, in any case violates all possible defenses towards the application and existence of freewill as there is no way one can govern another person’s behavior by defining how he or she should choose, and maintain a sense of freewill. Instead, this is dictation of how to live, as there are consequences for each choice, where the consequence is the determinant of the person’s behavior and choices. This is as illustrated in the fall of man, in the same book, where there are consequences for making the wrong choice, in which case it is God who makes the rule of what is right and what is wrong. It is therefore a distinction of what freewill is and is not by definition of parameters of choice and conduct towards exercising freewill, which is all done by God. God therefore sets all the conditions responsible for the behavior of man, which in turn manipulates his freewill deeming it redundant in a sense of putting man in a tight corner in relation to making decisions that affect his relationship with God and others, as well as how he lives his own life. This then means that man’s life is dependent of God, which is still a violation of freewill and a proof of its lack of existence. In spite of the test placed on freewill and its existence in reference to God, there is a depiction of a potential existence and proof that there is no way God would be altering freewill. This is based on a logical argument that there is no way that God would create man for being a puppet that is easily manipulated to the point of lacking sense. With this in mind, God created man in order to have a relationship with him, which is convenient for the argument, but not the components of the world and the choices presented to him. This is to mean that despite God knowing the outcome of the whole creation process and having created man, and then he knew that man would betray Him using freewill. Then above translates to freewill being totally nonexistent as it points us back to the point of predestination in that even in creation and inception of freewill, God took a calculating risk, where He knew the outcome, but went on ahead to create man (Milton 103-105). The whole argument lacks sense in that the will was there for one purpose only, which was obedience and devotion to God and nothing further than that. Consequently, God continues to manipulate the will of man by setting all the conditions and determining that which is meant to be right and wrong to the point that there is no transparency in freewill, but that it is a form of will subject to change with God’s will. In conclusion, freewill in Paradise Lost is nothing but a sham that cannot be defined, as there is not even a way to prove its existence, and the ones that exist do not hold a candle to the facts presented in the book as logic prevails backed by evidence. It is therefore safe to make the conclusion that freewill in Paradise Lost is a white elephant, as it does not appear illustrated and the backings of the same are strong against its existence. Works Cited Mitchel, R. John Milton's Paradise Lost. New York: Barron's Educational Series, 1984. Print. Bizik, A. "Sufficient to Have Stood, Though Free to Fall": The Parabolic Narrative of Free Will in "Paradise Lost", Michigan: ProQuest. 2008. Print. Milton, J. Paradise Lost. Los Angeles: Indo-European Publishing, 2010. Print. Barfoot, C. The Thread of Connection: Aspect of Fate in the Novels of Jane Austen and Others. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1982. Print. Read More