Eywa and free will

[exostrike]

There is a consensus on this forum that Eywa controls all action on Pandora, but this raised an interesting question about free will. If Eywa controls/influences all action on Pandora via the bio-USB links, do the Na'vi have true free will, or are they simple obeying the orders that Eywa subconsciously inserts into their minds when they link with her to keep the balance of the world. This would change Eywa from a caring god to one of brutal conformity where any deviation is crushed by mind control.

And now we're getting to the crunch point, if this line of reasoning is correct, how do we know that Jake Sully defected from RDA completely of his own free will? When he linked with Eywa, she may have manipulated his mind to enhance his feelings of connection to the Na'vi and the rejection of RDA. Brainwashing if you will.

[Aihwa]

Free will is the ability to disobey. Now from the movie, I took it that while the Navi respect the opinion of Eywa, they still retain a choice.

[Theorist]

Well, I think they definitely have freewill in that respect because they aren't always bonded with her or anything for that matter.

But, well I'll give the human example first. When a person becomes nervous and sweats, they sweat out a different type of sweat. When people around 'smell' that scent (not so much BO, their noses just pick up the chemicals) the chemicals cause them to show more sympathy/care towards that nervous person. So is that a manipulation of freewill? The person still has the freedom to care or not care for the nervous person. But their mind is sort of being manipulated.

I imagine there could be plants all over Pandora capable of releasing pheromones which work similarly. Is that a breach of freewill? I don't really know.

I personally don't see the difference between freewill and no freewill, as long as one does not know the future, and cannot tell where the the control is coming from.

[ALLie]

I don't see Eywa as an interventionist intelligence... I see it pretty much as Einstein's god, a god that is nothing more but the energy that flows through all things in nature. It is surprising though when Jake plugs in the tree of souls and asks for Eywa's help, and he actually gets it!. But it could also be the way Theorist puts it... Plants for instance, they can't move to protect themselves when threatened, all they have is chemicals. A particular type of plant when in the presence of predator insects, it spreads this chemical into the air and atracts some other kind of insects who happen to eat the predator ones. This is not the intervention of any supernatural will, but the very way nature works. This is the way I see Eywa, and this is what I think happened when Jake asked for help. Suddenly all pandora enviroment was threatened and all nature reacted to it.

Thus, I don't think the Na'vi's free will is being manipulated at all.

[Theorist]

^kind like:Ants and trees rely on natural graffiti to enable protection deal (Wired UK)

[Sanjwale]

I don't see Eywa as an interventionist intelligence... I see it pretty much as Einstein's god, a god that is nothing more but the energy that flows through all things in nature. It is surprising though when Jake plugs in the tree of souls and asks for Eywa's help, and he actually gets it!. But it could also be the way Theorist puts it... Plants for instance, they can't move to protect themselves when threatened, all they have is chemicals. A particular type of plant when in the presence of predator insects, it spreads this chemical into the air and atracts some other kind of insects who happen to eat the predator ones. This is not the intervention of any supernatural will, but the very way nature works. This is the way I see Eywa, and this is what I think happened when Jake asked for help. Suddenly all pandora enviroment was threatened and all nature reacted to it.

Thus, I don't think the Na'vi's free will is being manipulated at all.

I think eywa isn't a real god. but like you say more like energy that is flowing trough all the things in nature

[Foxhound]

Free will is the ability to disobey. Now from the movie, I took it that while the Navi respect the opinion of Eywa, they still retain a choice.

What if Eywa let them have free will as long as it lined up with what she wanted? Example.
"What will i hunt? Where will i go? Who will i talk to? What shall i do?= Free will." "Those Sky-person pants look comfortable and that beer drink sounds nice maybe i should get some! = NO! free will."
Thoughts?

[Theorist]

Defining free will is very difficult. Suppose we don't have free will. Suppose the future is already planned out to the exact position of every tiniest particle. As long as we don't know that future, the fact that the future is or isn't determined doesn't really affect us. Life still appears to have freewill to us.

Or another example, hazing for fraternities. Is it freewill of a kid to be hazed so he can join the fraternity? He ha the choice join or don't so he gets to chose the be hazed. But, is hazing a violation of freewill because it is "something an ordinary person wouldn't do under ordinary circumstances" to quote my school on the definition. Is that violating freewill? The student can 'disobey' and not be hazed, but then he doesn't get in. So... what is freewill?

[Scott]

Eywa is supremely intelligent, imagine being able to count every grain of sand on a huge beach in the blink of an eye and be 100% accurate...she is that intelligent. I believe she reads and writes DNA like we read and write here. It just seems blantantly obvious to me that anything so intimately familar with life understands that free will is the ability for life to change and become better, stronger, smarter. Look at North Korea. Is it becoming better, stronger, smarter? No, Little Kim and his dear old dad have stagnated their nation and in nature, stagnation is death. Eywa is much, much smarter than that.

Eywa can have a deep and meaningful relationship with the Na'vi and not tread on free will. When a mom tells a small child not to touch a hot stove that is not an infringment upon free will, that is wisdom, nurturing, and love.

[Raidrik]

interesting prospect and with some backing to it. Throws a monkey-wrench into the idea she is a a ever-caring mother. Another thing to consider. If she was so protective of her 'children', why didn't she drive off the RDA before they even became settled?