In science, meticulous and detailed record keeping is an indispensable tool. Lacking such records, it is difficult, if not impossible to keep track of all of the relevant information. And without a detailed written record, findings cannot be replicated and verified by others, an essential aspect of science. In Naturalistic Humanism keeping detailed records is also an essential tool used in several exercises, including one that can help you examine if believing that you can act contrary to cause makes sense.
The exercise involves keeping a written record to create a data set, and then using that data to discern a pattern. You start by listing one or more events in which you have always perceived your actions to have emanated only from you — seemly defying the factors that were pushing you to behave differently.
An example might be something you did that surprised those who knew you, or even surprising yourself. It might have involved settling down to an exclusive relationship, or buying a house after many years of avoiding such commitments. Or, it could have been the opposite — after years in a committed relationship, or living in one place for a very long time, suddenly you decided to break free and explore the alternatives.
Your example might be a career change that no one would have imagined you pursuing. It might have involved studying for a degree in a field you previously regarded as uninteresting. Alternatively, it could have involved suddenly abandoning a course of study that you were pursuing for years.
Many people think of such radical life changes as having no better explanation than asserting one’s ability to act contrary to cause — sometimes referred to as asserting their “free will.” Most of us do not second guess such an assumption, but for this exercise we will. See if you can provide an alternative account for why you behaved as you did. Consider three types of determinants— past influences, influences that are more recent, and the most proximate – whatever acted as a trigger when you made your decision.
You could list determinants based on the influence of family or friends, and pivotal life experiences such as loss of a loved one, birth of a child, illness or disability, or surviving disasters such as a mugging, a car accident, or sexual assault.
Any one or combination of these determinants could have been decisive in determining your seemingly inexplicable behavior. If we are thorough in our examination, we can identify at least some determining factors. A version of this exercise can be done with another person where the information is verbally exchanged. Interacting with someone else can help facilitate a more effective analysis. When doing the exercise alone some will decide that their behavior can only be accounted for by them having acted contrary to cause. Having someone else challenge this assumption, however, can avoid prematurely shutting down exploration. Imagine someone saying to you “So there was absolutely nothing in your life that could have influenced the way you behaved?” Sometimes watching another person account for how their determinants might have resulted in their own behavior can help demonstrate what such reflection might look like. Almost any Naturalistic Support exercise can be enhanced, and made more effective and enjoyable when it is shared with others.