Look To The Pattern

Walter Kaufmann talked about looking for what a philosopher sees, not so much the details of what he says. I look to the pattern and tend to let the specialists argue about the details. It's like defining human freedom, the pattern is more or less fixed, but various paths in the pattern are more fluid or free. You make blunders this way but you can get the pattern right, but you can be accused of being more a visionary than a philosopher if you don't fully explicate the pattern. Studious dweebs often prefer the details and miss the pattern.

We are free to make our own history but within the strictures of the culture we inherited, and within our inherited genetic traits. Nature and nurture than trade back and forth. The pattern of theological materialism is life evolving to Godhood, but defining Godhood in detail or defining  precisely how we get there is not fully known and won't be until we evolve higher intelligence to see. 

Are we free or unfree? Is the glass half full or half empty? We do have more choices than other animals on earth. Being in harmony with the pattern of life and evolution allows more power and fluidity in our choices within the pattern. This suggests a pattern of human choices but not absolute freedom.