My thesis is DONE!

[Sethomas]

This is an addendum to the FAQ to answer a point raised by Spinster. I feel that it's impossible to make a truly good answer to this question, but I did my best.

With the concession of determinism, how is it that ethics matters? Are we not “destined” to follow a path of good or evil, with no real choice in the matter?
In short, the Coeternal explanation is that the tendency to adhere to ethics is the metaphysical consequence of having a benevolent soul. It is difficult, however, to rationalize the phenomena of ethical deliberation in deterministic terms. Coeternalism holds that conscious will is the manifestation of ethereal will in such a way that while choosing between good and evil is a passive progression of consciousness, it is experienced as an active process. Problems are incurred when one who realizes determinism feels that all her actions are the product of inevitable compulsion and is thus spurred into apathy, feeling unable to control her own life. The error in this mode of thinking is that while conscious will is irrevocably illusory, it is by no means worthless. The coherent passage of human history is dependent upon the axiom that each individual feels that she is the sole originator of her actions. In the list of causes that determine one’s course of actions, foremost is the very emotion of volition. Regardless of how we may realize that all actions are compelled, life entails the feeling that one is choosing between good and evil. The choice that one makes is indeed respective of her eternal destiny, so anyone should feel the need to act morally. The idea that one should surrender her faculties to however “fate” steers her is intrinsically flawed; the abandonment of moral identity is no less the product of volition than the partaking of conscious will, even if this is a mere illusion.