For 37 years I assumed I understood these lyrics. I was wrong. Freewill is a rebuttal to Pascal's Wager. Pascal imagined a wager between God existing or not. He compared it to flipping a coin. Neil Peart is responding "No, I won't be subject to that wager. I have free will to decide."
Don't "believe" me? Thank God for wikipedia.
Freewill - There are those who think that life Has nothing left to chance
Pascal - Humans bet with their lives that God either exists or does not.
Freewill - We dance on the strings Of powers we cannot perceive.
Pascal - If there is a God, He is infinitely incomprehensible, since, having neither parts nor limits, He has no affinity to us.
Freewill - You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
Pascal - ..."God is, or He is not." But to which side shall we incline?
Freewill - If you choose not to decide You still have made a choice
Pascal - Yes; but you must wager. It is not optional.
Freewill - You can choose from phantom fears And kindness that can kill
Pascal - We only have two things to stake, our "reason" and our "happiness".
Freewill - There are those who think that They've been dealt a losing hand The cards were stacked against them....Blame is better to give than receive
Pascal - Do not, then, reprove for error those who have made a choice; for you know nothing about it. The wagerer responds "No, but I blame them for having made, not this choice, but a choice; for again both he who chooses heads and he who chooses tails are equally at fault, they are both in the wrong. The true course is not to wager at all."
Freewill - Each of us A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
Pascal - Humanity is a finite being trapped within an incomprehensible infinity, briefly thrust into being from non-being, with no explanation of "Why?" or "What?" or "How?"
For 37 years I assumed I understood these lyrics. I was wrong. Freewill is a rebuttal to Pascal's Wager. Pascal imagined a wager between God existing or not. He compared it to flipping a coin. Neil Peart is responding "No, I won't be subject to that wager. I have free will to decide."
Don't "believe" me? Thank God for wikipedia.
Freewill - There are those who think that life Has nothing left to chance Pascal - Humans bet with their lives that God either exists or does not.
Freewill - We dance on the strings Of powers we cannot perceive. Pascal - If there is a God, He is infinitely incomprehensible, since, having neither parts nor limits, He has no affinity to us.
Freewill - You can choose a ready guide In some celestial voice Pascal - ..."God is, or He is not." But to which side shall we incline?
Freewill - If you choose not to decide You still have made a choice Pascal - Yes; but you must wager. It is not optional.
Freewill - You can choose from phantom fears And kindness that can kill Pascal - We only have two things to stake, our "reason" and our "happiness".
Freewill - There are those who think that They've been dealt a losing hand The cards were stacked against them....Blame is better to give than receive Pascal - Do not, then, reprove for error those who have made a choice; for you know nothing about it. The wagerer responds "No, but I blame them for having made, not this choice, but a choice; for again both he who chooses heads and he who chooses tails are equally at fault, they are both in the wrong. The true course is not to wager at all."
Freewill - Each of us A cell of awareness Imperfect and incomplete Genetic blends With uncertain ends Pascal - Humanity is a finite being trapped within an incomprehensible infinity, briefly thrust into being from non-being, with no explanation of "Why?" or "What?" or "How?"