Nothing comes from Nothing

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 415 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  Nothing comes from Nothing (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

College students of philosophy are entranced by the philosophical dictum of “Nothing comes from nothing” (ex nihilo nihil fit) first argued by Parmenides. In its modern connotation, the dictum has profound religious implications. To Parmenides all matter was uncreated and eternal; therefore, the universe had no beginning. In contrast, the writers of the book of Genesis believed that the universe had not always existed. To them, the universe was created, in the past, by an all-powerful God. Until 1929, many scientists sided with Parmenides believing that the universe was indeed eternal.  This view, of an uncreated eternal universe, was challenged by astronomer Edwin Hubble who noticed that the universe was expanding. Hubble’s hypothesis was confirmed in 1965 by other astronomers who demonstrated that the universe is in a state of cosmic expansion and must have had a beginning - the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang theory lends support to the theological doctrine of creation from nothing. That is, God created the universe with the Big Bang.  My appreciation to the reader still with me after this abstruse introduction. A philosophical discussion of “nothing comes from nothing” is well outside the scope of this column, but I find the phrase applicable to discussing more down-to-earth wonders like the origin of freedom.  So, if nothing comes from nothing, where does freedom come from? An unsatisfying answer is that freedom comes from God. This leads to questions such as: why has a loving God not allowed freedom to flourish in most of His world? After all, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau reminded us in the opening sentence of “The Social Contract” (1762): “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.”  We normally understand freedom as independence from the arbitrary will of another. Our epistemological understanding of freedom recognizes that the future is unknown and unknowable. Therefore, our survival depends on the ability to react to changing circumstances. This we are able to do in free societies. Freedom enables us to make decisions that impact our future, to make mistakes, and to learn from them. Freedom enables our moral growth; yet freedom has many detractors.  Some philosophical attacks on freedom are thought-provoking. For example, if freedom comes from God, and God is omniscient, He already knows what will happen in the future. This line of thinking leads to the notion of predestination. If our future is predestined, human freedom is a deception. Freedom and predestination are unreconcilable concepts.  A different philosophical attack claims that, since the universe is governed by laws of cause and effect, the future is already deterministically decided. That is, all decisions we make are predetermined by physical laws. So, according to disbelievers of freedom, predestination or predetermination make freedom an illusion.  A third theoretical attack on the idea of human freedom argues that our idea of freedom, is nothing more than an arbitrary product of our environment and upbringing. These arguments, and others, have been used by detractors of freedom to undermine our responsibilities and to justify taking away our freedoms. As George Bernard Shaw put it: “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.”  In 1958 political theorist Isaiah Berlin complicated the question of freedom even further with his lecture “Two Concepts of Freedom.” Berlin made a distinction between negative and positive freedoms. In Berlin’s analysis negative freedom is understood as freedom ‘from’ interference by others, and positive freedom, or freedom ‘to’, is understood as freedom to act.  The politics of freedom ‘to’ are exemplified by Marxists views in which being free -in the ‘to’ sense- implies that individuals are not responsible for deciding what is best for them and the state must decide on their behalf. This justifies the use of oppression and coercion by the state to achieve a desired distribution of society’s output. So, for Marxists, freedom comes from the government.  Yet, nothing comes from nothing, and as free persons we have the opportunity of making decisions and bearing the consequences of our choices. Freedom is a mystery, but it is not an illusion. Freedom comes from our choices.  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish.