What is Slavery without Free Will? (open discussion, all views welcome)

This is a casual discussion event open to all views and perspectives. Respect for others is a must (or at least try).

What is Slavery without Free Will?
Free Will vs Determinism is one of my favorite topics to dissect, and while many of us feel it has been beaten to death, there is a unique element to this topic that I feel is worth exploring further. What can I say… call me determined. I’ll just put my hot take out there, and on Saturday we can talk about whatever y’all want.

Let’s start with Premise 1: Slavery exists or has existed (I think we all agree here; if this is a point of contention we have bigger problems at hand)

Premise 2: Official definition of Slavery according to Merriam-Webster is “The practice or institution of holding people as chattel involuntarily and under threat of violence”. I’m hoping this is an acceptable definition for everyone.

When my deterministic friends tell me that we don’t have free will, how are they squaring this with the idea of slavery? Do they think slavery is wrong? If so, what makes it wrong? In a deterministic universe, isn’t *everything* involuntary and any sense of choice is just an illusion? Do they think slavery is an illusion? Do they have to pretend slavery doesn’t exist when defending determinism, and do they pretend we have free will when discussing slavery?

If I am a slave in a deterministic universe, I was determined to be a slave. If I own a slave in a deterministic universe, I was determined to be a slave owner. Do determinists still think slavery is wrong, or even a real thing?

I’m eager to get some answers on this, but the conclusion that I draw is that Determinism and Slavery cannot both exist. To believe in one means to deny the other, so maybe we need to revisit Premise 1 after all.

Then again maybe as a determinist perhaps we are all in a perpetual state of slavery, as we are “slaves to natural causality”. But it is implied in the definition above that we are talking about people being enslaved by other people. So by that standard, a Determinist may say that a slave is just as much as slave as the slave owner.

What are your thoughts? Come join us for a fun discussion! All views and beliefs welcome the more diversity of opinions the better.

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