Or it could be a question on if there are any individuals at all, or just the appearance of individuals. In which case the question on if free will exists no longer makes sense. It’s much in the same thing as your line of thought around determinism, just a different way of approaching the concept.
That is a really interesting perspective. We are just parts of the ‘system’ (I am using the word system here for lack of a better one). But what if the system is not made up of separate parts, like a car? If you take out a part of the car, maybe a wheel, then it becomes different, it behaves different. The parts are thus individuals. What if the system is more like a liquid, such as the sea? If you take out a water-atom, it is practically still the same. It still behaves the same. So, the parts are not individuals.
If you take a human away, their immediate environment will be changed a lot. However, the universe, the system as a whole does not function differently from before. So, in that sense, individuality is an illusion when you look at it from a very high level perspective. This is different from a more local perspective, of course. When I lost someone in my environment, my personal universe changed completely.
I hope I make sense. I just really liked the thought you expressed. :-)
Or it could be a question on if there are any individuals at all, or just the appearance of individuals. In which case the question on if free will exists no longer makes sense. It’s much in the same thing as your line of thought around determinism, just a different way of approaching the concept.
That is a really interesting perspective. We are just parts of the ‘system’ (I am using the word system here for lack of a better one). But what if the system is not made up of separate parts, like a car? If you take out a part of the car, maybe a wheel, then it becomes different, it behaves different. The parts are thus individuals. What if the system is more like a liquid, such as the sea? If you take out a water-atom, it is practically still the same. It still behaves the same. So, the parts are not individuals.
If you take a human away, their immediate environment will be changed a lot. However, the universe, the system as a whole does not function differently from before. So, in that sense, individuality is an illusion when you look at it from a very high level perspective. This is different from a more local perspective, of course. When I lost someone in my environment, my personal universe changed completely.
I hope I make sense. I just really liked the thought you expressed. :-)