Hofstadter, Dennett - The Mind's I

Is God a Taoist? 336MORTAL: Of course I have. But all the while, on another level, I have beenthinking about it.GOD: And have you come to any conclusion?MORTAL: Well you say the reason is not to test our worthiness. And youdisclaimed the reason that we need to feel that we must merit things in order toenjoy them, And you claim to be a utilitarian, Most significant of all, youappeared so delighted when I came to the sudden realization that it is not sinningin itself which is bad but only the suffering it causes,GOD: Well of course! What else could conceivably be bad about sinning?MORTAL: All right, you know that, and now I know that. But all my life Iunfortunately have been under the influence of those moralists who hold sinningto be bad in itself. Anyway, putting all these pieces together, it occurs to me thatthe only reason you gave free will is because of your belief that with free will,people will tend to hurt each other – and themselves – lesss than without freewill.GOD: Bravo! That is by far the best reason you have yet given! I can assure you thathad I chosen to give free will, that would have been my very reason for sochoosing.MORTAL: What! You mean to say you did not choose to give us free will?GOD: My dear fellow, I could no more choose to give you free will than I couldchoose to make an equilateral triangle equiangular. I could choose t make or notan equilateral triangle in the first place, but having chosen to make one, I wouldthen have no choice but to make it equiangular.MORTAL: I thought you could do anything.GOD: Only things which are logically possible. As St. Thomas said, “It is a sin toregard the act that God cannot do the impossible, as a limitation on His powers.”I agree, except that in place of his using the word sin I would use the term error.MORTAL: Anyhow, I am still puzzled by your implication that you did not chooseto give me free will.GOD: Well, it is high time I inform you that the entire discussion – from the verybeginning – has been based on one monstrous fallacy! We have been talkingpurely on a moral level – you originally complained that I gave you free will, nadraised the whole question as to whether I should have. It never once occurred toyou that I had absolutely no choice in the matter.