Brooke Kihle
Professor Adam Johns
English Composition
10/29/14
Determinism versus
free will
Free
will is a basic human right. We, as a country value free will so highly it’s
written into our constitution as the first amendment. This being said it’s hard to picture a culture
that views free will as a second importance, that determinism is better than
allowing someone the choice of determining. One of the main beliefs of Oankali
is to help human’s survive to inevitably interbreed and create a “better”
generation. The Oankali truly believe that they are doing right by humans when
they go against their free will and perform experiments that save their lives.
However, where is the line crossed? When is it okay to perform on a human body
without consent; even if it is for their benefit? Human society values free
will above all else but the Oankali’s are blind to emotional connections and
believe the science of determinism is best for survival.
The first
time we see the Oankali disregard free will is on page 6 when they perform
experiments of Lilith Iyapo’s body. She awakes to find a scar on her abdomen
and no memory of how it got there. In the beginning we are blind to what this
experiment outcomes were and therefore look at it as cruel torture. It’s
instinctual for us to view this type of experiment as inhuman and against
Lilith’s basic human right. However, as we go further into the story we see
that the Oankali surgically removed a malignant cancerous tumor. This was not
entirely selfless but rather the opposite because the Oankali wanted this
cancer to research and experiment on the DNA. Once Lilith is aware of the
experiment she compares it to how modern scientist experiment on animals, “we
used to treat animals that way, we did things to them inoculations, surgery,
isolation- all for their own good. It scares me to have people doing things to
me that I don’t understand” (Butler 33). Lilith draws the connection between
the Oankali’s view of determinism as helpful and her human instinct to need
free will. Following her experiment, Lilith undergoes consistent “awakenings”
where she has no idea how she falls asleep, for how long, or what happens to her
while she’s under. There are many examples when the Oankali continue to
disregard Lilith’s basic free will such as their “trade”. The Oankali literally
trade things that they value from humans with their DNA, essentially interbreeding
between the two. Lilith’s immediate response is repulsion, “No. I don’t care
what you do with what you’ve already learned- how you apply it to yourselves-but
leave us out of it” (Butler 42). Jhaya’s
simple answer explains the Oankali’s view point, “We are committed to the trade
as your body is to breathing” (Butler 42). The Oankali truly believe,
instinctually believe, that genetic determinism is best for survival. They see
the best traits of the humans mixed with their as the ultimate offspring and
therefore helping humans to continue existence.
It’s
hard to view the Oankali with an unbiased eye but maybe that’s the point. Free
will is the highest form of human or anything rights. Determinism is situation
of course, but without the consent of someone to determine is it right? By
situational, I mean not everything in life can be determined, specifically the
main area of Oankali’s belief of determinism focuses on in Lilith’s Brood is genetic. In the world of modern science genetic determinism
is a false theory. In Ideology of Biology,
Lewontin’s main thesis is to disprove the common misconceptions of genetic determinism
and overall the myth that genetic determinism plays a main role in our
phenotype- who we are. Lewontin’s ideas correlate directly opposite of the views
that Oankali hold so high. Where Lewontin sees genetic determinism as ignorant
they see as the only possibility (this being said Oankali can make genetic determinism
happen whereas modern science cannot). However, Lewontin’s point is that human
characteristics are made from multiple factors including the environment in
which we have no control over. When the Oankali completely disregard human’s
basic rights to free will, they are ignoring the environmental factors that
play into it, like stress of the unknown and fear of their surroundings. The Oankali
justify their actions because they are “benefiting” human society but what of
the individual. Is Lilith really benefitting from an unknown surgery that she
never consented to? Is Lilith benefitting when she’s told she has no choice but
to interbreed with this alien species she doesn’t trust let alone understand? The
reason free will is an important human right is because it protects the individual.
I believe that free will is more important that determinism even if determinism
benefits that human’s health.
In
conclusion, the major conflict between Oankali’s beliefs and Lilith’s or more specifically
humans is the importance of free will. Human society values free will as a
basic right, one we are entitled to from birth. The Oankali on the other hand
view determinism as the most essential way to survive and therefore the most
important value. As long as determinism benefits the human or alien species and
save population growth that free will can be ignored. This viewpoint however
disregards environmental factors that are completely eradicate genetic
determinism. The “trade” or interbreeding between alien and human species is
not a guaranteed solution. Free will protects each individual on a more emotional,
spiritual level and when the Oankali ignore basic free will they ignore these
spiritual factors that will eventually descend throughout their offspring growth.
Free will should be valued more importantly than determinism if not to protect
the individual but inevitably protect the society.
The first paragraph is a mess. Free will isn’t the same as political freedom, and it’s hardly true that all human societies value freedom equally - there’s too much generalizations here and too much confusion. Nonetheless, freedom is clearly an important subject when thinking about the Oankali.
ReplyDeleteDo the Oankali believe that “genetic determinism is best for survival” or do they believe that everybody, including us, is controlled by our genes, and that our beliefs about freedom are an illusion which would be removed by better science? Your understanding of their viewpoint is fine, but you’re a little shaking on the reasoning behind it. To them, there *is* no such thing as freedom, at least as people understand it.
In the third paragraph, your grasp of Lewontin is good, although it’s worth saying that not everybody agrees with Lewontin - his point of view might be rather different than Butler’s (and is certainly not the same as the Oankali’s!). There’s some important confusion here: “ I believe that free will is more important that determinism even if determinism benefits that human’s health.” Your approach isn’t so bad, but you use terminology incorrectly. A determinist is not someone who necessarily believes that people’s rights should be restricted: a determinist is someone who believes that we don’t really make choices, but our genes (or God, or our personal history) make choices for us. Someone who believes in free will isn’t necessarily an advocate for all forms of freedom, but someone who believes we *really* are free to choose. Now, it’s admittedly true that a determinist might have different attitudes toward, say, political and religious freedoms than a believer in free will - but you are mixing things up here.
So you’re right that free will vs. determinism is very important here, and you understand the terms of the debate. But you write as if free will vs. determinism is a political debate (whereby we value political freedom to a greater or lesser extent) rather than a philosophical debate (do we control our own actions). I think this essay could be interesting if you sorted out your terminology and then extended your reading to additional, hopefully challenging parts of the book.