The Existential Limits of Reason. Vladislav Pedder
it becomes clear that human cognition inevitably faces boundaries that cannot be surpassed by familiar forecasting mechanisms.
The existential limit of forecasting is the threshold at which the human brain encounters fundamentally unpredictable phenomena that cannot be integrated into predictive models due to a lack of data, experience, or the ability to correct prediction errors. When the brain reaches the limits of its cognitive capabilities, it results in an irresolvable cognitive conflict, giving rise to profound existential experiences.
The existential limit of forecasting became the starting point for the development of numerous philosophical movements such as pessimism, existentialism, and nihilism. These philosophies emerged as a result of confronting the limits of human understanding, when traditional models of perceiving the world prove inadequate to address profound existential questions and uncertainty. Errors arising from the existential limit can sometimes spiral out of control, evolving into desperate pessimism, deep existentialism, or nihilism.
Pessimism, as a philosophical position asserting the dominance of the negative aspects of life, is directly linked to the inability to cope with uncertainty and predict the future during times of profound crisis. When a person encounters phenomena that cannot be integrated into familiar models, their mind may begin to seek an explanation through extremes. A pessimistic view of the world often stems from accepting uncertainty and destructive expectations as an inevitable part of existence.
An example of pessimism is the philosophy of the German thinker Philipp Mainländer, who proposed the idea that existence, by its very nature, contains an element of suffering and meaninglessness. Mainländer’s thinking on the infinite suffering and meaninglessness of life became a striking example of how the existential limit can be interpreted as the inevitable tragedy of human existence. He viewed life as something devoid of an ultimate purpose, which is a direct consequence of experiencing existential uncertainty, which gives rise to the deepest pessimistic disposition.
The philosopher Ulrich Horstmann (pseudonym Klaus Steintal) represents a radical example of pessimism, where his philosophy escalates to extremes. Horstmann is known for his extremist position, according to which the voluntary extinction of humanity should be achieved through deliberate global thermonuclear annihilation. He views existence as something so absurd and filled with suffering that, in his view, the only way out is the complete destruction of humanity. His ideas serve as an example of extreme pessimism, where the philosophy of suffering and the meaninglessness of life leads to misanthropy and radical, shocking conclusions.
Existentialism, in turn, emerged as a response to the recognition of these limits and the struggle with the fact that humans cannot find absolute meaning in life, while their predictions and answers to existential questions often turn out to be superficial or mistaken. Existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Heidegger sought to confront the ideas of freedom, responsibility, and finitude. However, their works frequently reflect a sense of anxiety and the impossibility of fully grasping existence.
However, existentialism can be rooted in mistaken assumptions about human nature, leading to extremes in the interpretation of freedom and the search for meaning. If we consider that this process begins with an internal crisis, then philosophical systems such as Heidegger’s theories emerge as a response to the inability to find ultimate meaning in a world where predictions about our future are constantly called into question.
Nihilism is perhaps the most extreme response to the existential limit of prediction. Nihilists argue that life has neither meaning nor intrinsic value. They assert that all moral, social, and metaphysical foundations are ultimately meaningless. The belief that all human efforts to create meaning are doomed to failure stems from a profound existential void that emerges when one confronts the limits of human understanding.
The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is a striking example of nihilism, describing the world as chaos devoid of meaning and order. For Nietzsche, the world is an arena of struggle and suffering, where human aspirations are doomed to failure if they seek meaning in a universe that offers none. He argues that traditional moral and religious foundations are incapable of providing true meaning in life, and that individuals must forge their own path by overcoming this existential void from within. His works embody this confrontation with existential limits: it is impossible to construct a cognitive model of the world that resolves all contradictions and allows one to escape this darkness.
Nihilism, emerging from a deep crisis of faith in the ability to predict, is essentially the extreme stage of the “amplification” of error. When a person fails to find solutions in conditions of uncertainty, they arrive at the conclusion that nothing exists beyond subjective perception and, therefore, that nothing in the world truly matters. This ultimately escalates into a complete rejection of all values and purposes.
Pessimism, existentialism, and nihilism represent not just philosophical doctrines but also a process of forecasting that arises from erroneous predictions and exaggerated expectations. Beginning as an attempt to explain uncertainty and crisis, these movements gradually spiral, amplifying the significance of the problem and reaching extremes. As a result, what initially started as a search for meaning and an effort to overcome existential limits transforms into extreme forms of despair and philosophical nihilism. We will examine this in more detail in Chapter 3.
These philosophies, to some extent, become a logical consequence of how errors in forecasting and distortions in the perception of uncertainty can lead to a radical reassessment of human nature and its place in the world. They do not always offer solutions, but they raise fundamental questions about our ability to construct a meaningful life in the face of the uncertainty we encounter.
An example of a more honest approach within existentialism is the philosopher Albert Camus. Camus emphasizes the moment when Sisyphus, the absurd hero of his work, becomes aware of the meaninglessness of his existence and his condemnation to endless struggle. However, Camus does not advocate denying reality but rather accepting it. For Sisyphus, despite recognizing the absurd, his life does not lose its value. He becomes happy because he acknowledges his fate and accepts it – not in submission, but in defiance. This acceptance is not passive but an active act in which he finds inner freedom and harmony, continuing his labor despite its futility. Camus argues that although Sisyphus’s struggle is absurd, meaning and happiness can still be found in that absurdity if one abandons the search for ultimate answers and embraces reality as it is.
Chapter 2. Ways of Adapting to Existential Limits
In the first chapter, we arrived at the realization that the world, as it is, is the result of random interactions and self-organization, devoid of any ultimate purpose or higher design. This understanding, coupled with chaos and unpredictability, presents a profound existential problem for the human mind. How can we make decisions and take action when the future is beyond prediction? In this chapter, we will examine existential fears and limits of the mind, such as free will, death, and the complete absence of meaning, through scientific and philosophical works. Since these are eternal themes that will persist as long as there is a self-aware mind, instead of reiterating the ideas of past geniuses, we will focus on the works of the 20th and early 21st centuries, as their works, in a sense, already encapsulate the conclusions of the past.
The next section explores free will as an adaptive tool. We will examine its neurobiological and cognitive foundations, the influence of genetics and environment on its formation, and the illusion of this concept in light of contemporary research. Through this lens, we will understand how free will becomes a means of organizing chaos and a tool for adapting to the ultimate complexity of existence.
1. Free Will as a Tool for Information Processing
Although the brain operates within certain patterns and predictions, we continue to experience a sense of free will. This is because the brain does not process all information directly; instead, it works with the most probable hypotheses and models. As a result, we perceive ourselves as independent agents making decisions, even though, at a deeper level,