Free Will in a Structured Universe
A Deterministic Framework with Contained Autonomy
🔦 In Similarity Theory, free will does not exist in the absolute, unlimited sense. We exist in a midpoint system — not at the origin of creation, but within a structure already formed before our arrival. This pre-structured environment has fixed rules, which is why reality appears stable and predictable. These rules are embodied as frames of time: discrete slices of reality in which we live and move【1】【2】.
🐭 Consciousness and the Maze Analogy
Imagine placing a rat in a maze. Within the maze, the rat can choose any path, turn left or right, seek the cheese, or wander aimlessly. This is a genuine choice — but it is a contained choice, confined by the maze’s boundaries. The structure (the maze) was built beforehand, but the rat’s decisions still determine its experience and outcome【3】.
The rat’s wisdom, awareness, and persistence matter greatly. It may find the cheese and be rewarded, or it may die of hunger, endlessly circling without purpose. This is where free will operates — inside the given framework.
Yet, sometimes, something rare happens: the rat jumps outside the maze. In doing so, it is no longer bound by the internal rules. This is transcendence — a breach in the system, revealing that the universe is not limited to the structure we know. This is the crack in the wall from Michael’s story — a moment when consciousness escapes the local lattice and glimpses the wider reality【4】.
🌀 Frames, Consciousness, and Emergence
If we imagine ourselves at the edge of the universe in its earliest state, each movement we make leaves an imprint — a frame — behind us. These frames are far less conscious than we are, more like still images【1】. A tree living beside us in the present has more consciousness than the static tree left behind in a past frame.
Over zillions of years, the accumulation and condensation of these frames can give rise to new consciousness【2】. Through interaction and pattern-building, a once-static record can awaken, develop movement, and begin its own journey. At that point, it finds itself in a pre-built structure — our old lattice — and the cycle repeats【4】.
Contained Autonomy
This model reconciles determinism and free will:
Determinism: We live in a pre-existing, rule-bound framework【1】【2】.
Free Will: Consciousness can navigate that framework freely and, on rare occasions, breach it entirely【4】.
I call this contained autonomy — freedom within boundaries, with the possibility of surpassing those boundaries.
Why This Matters in Similarity Theory
In Similarity Theory, this view of free will:
Aligns with the light behind the frames model, where consciousness animates static time-slices【1】【2】【4】.
Preserves the reality of choice while acknowledging structural constraints【3】.
Accounts for transcendence events as legitimate, not accidental — rare but real features of the system【4】.
This is not a purely block-universe model, nor is it absolute free will. It is a layered reality in which most paths are pre-existing, but consciousness can branch, breach, and expand beyond them【1】【2】【3】【4】.
Cross-links
Light Behind the Frames 🔦 — How consciousness animates time.
Transcendence Events 🌀 — Moments of breaching the system.
The Story of Michael — The crack in the wall.
References
Barbour, J. (1999). The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics. Oxford University Press.
Rovelli, C. (2017). The Order of Time. Riverhead Books.
Greene, B. (2004). The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality. Knopf.
Raphael, S. (2025). Similarity Theory — Original unpublished framework.
