13/06/2025
A Framework for Reconciling Free Will, Determinism, and Moral Reality
This model proposes a compatibilist framework that integrates determinism and free will by grounding agency in cognitive systems theory and embedding it within a metaphysical structure governed by moral equilibrium. It introduces two core concepts: Relational Problem Solving as the engine of agency, and the Principle of Moral Harmony as the law-like system in which all moral action unfolds.
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1. Agency as Relational Problem Solving
Determinism is accepted as the operating principle of physical and biological systems—every event arises from prior causes. However, free will is preserved as an emergent phenomenon in complex, conscious organisms through what can be called Relational Problem Solving.
This refers to the capacity of a self-aware system to evaluate its present state, environmental conditions, and potential futures, and to select among possible courses of action. The conscious agent is not an isolated free-floating will but a dynamic feedback system—constantly reconfiguring itself based on prior choices. Each decision becomes a new input that shapes future states, making the individual the author of their evolving identity.
Agency, in this sense, is not contra-causal, but recursive and self-forming. It exists within constraints, but it reshapes those constraints over time.
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2. The Principle of Moral Harmony
In parallel to the physical universe, human action operates within a second-order metaphysical system governed by the Principle of Moral Harmony—a law-like tendency toward the conservation of moral balance.
• Good is defined as action that creates or restores harmony.
• Evil is action that disrupts or undermines harmony.
This principle operates like a moral version of thermodynamic equilibrium: any action that introduces discord into the system creates a “debt” that must be balanced. While the trend toward equilibrium is systemic and inevitable, the agents who enact the restoring forces—and the methods they choose—remain open-ended and voluntary.
The complexity of the system allows for false harmonies: highly structured forms of evil (such as tyranny or ideological oppression) may mimic order while generating deep discord. Distinguishing between true and false harmony is a key ethical and cognitive challenge.
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Conclusion
This model reframes the classic free will debate:
• Determinism defines the physical and causal structure of the universe.
• Agency arises as an emergent, recursive process of Relational Problem Solving within that structure.
• Moral Harmony is the metaphysical law ensuring that all discord must eventually be addressed—though how and by whom remains contingent.
In this view, human choice is not only psychologically and biographically meaningful—it is metaphysically significant. The structure may be determined, but the story is still ours to write.
