Re: Sruthi resolves the omniscience-free will paradox
Originally Posted by
devotee
Namaste WM,
Yes but I still see a paradox. The death of the warriors is predestined ... Lord Krishna declares that they are already killed by Him and Arjuna just has to take the credit for it. If Arjuna's taking credit for the killing of the warriors was predestined, Arjuna can have no free will to decide whether to participate in the war or not. He will be forced to participate.
So, Bhagwad Gita does not make it clear how Arjuna still enjoys free will when the events are predestined. In a free will situation, there must be something which is not known ... and the fate of that unknown event would be decided by how the agent acts.
Can you explain this ?
OM
Sure. Think about it this way. I have free will to decide whether to buy a plane ticket to Bombay or New York. However, once I board the plane, it will take me to the intended destination, and no amount of changing my mind will change the plane's course. Thus, I have free will, but my free will is still dependent on other factors. Arjuna was destined to fight the battle, but he had the choice not to. He just ended up making the right choice, and the fact that he would make the right choice was known to Sri Krishna in advance.
Philosoraptor
"Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools speak because they have to say something." - Plato
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