Discussion Do we have free will: yes or no?

[.............]

What do you think? Would be curious to see some reasoning to, but only write something if you want to. I'm personally in an unsure camp.

 

[GrumpyFrog]

If it a short "yes or no" thing, then yes, we do. There could be a discussion about what exactly free will is and whether only being able to make decisions you're "programmed" to make by your genes and environment is "real" true will...but in a more general sense we, to extent, are in control of our own actions and capable of making choices, and that's more of a "yes".

 

[.............]

If it a short "yes or no" thing, then yes, we do. There could be a discussion about what exactly free will is and whether only being able to make decisions you're "programmed" to make by your genes and environment is "real" true will...but in a more general sense we, to extent, are in control of our own actions and capable of making choices, and that's more of a "yes".

Ohh, that longer discussion you're talking about sounds really interesting but would also make my brain hurt lol

 

[not-2-b-the-answer]

True Free Will... No.
We may have some but we can't just do whatever we want whenever we want. For some it's $$$$
But even if you are wealthy, you still are restricted from some things.

 

[GenesAndEnvironment]

As much as a computer or calculator or cow has it. My interpretation of that is no, not in the sense it's used most of the time. This is why I'm against any form of "morally-based" punishment or reward.

 

[silent staring void]

I chose no, but I also could have chosen I'm not sure because I still think that all of my opinions could be wrong. I'm not sure what to do with this idea, though. I don't think a society where everyone acknowledges that they don't have free will could work, or at least I don't see how.

 

[sadnurse]

No

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I'm also not sure. I think humans can have the will to do whatever they want even if it goes outside their programming. Unfortunately there's that old cliche phrase about how "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". No amount of willpower in the world can fully conquer all physical barriers. Oftentimes deviations from free will are stopped by factors such as lack of energy, bureaucracy, thinking patterns, etc.

Tl;dr: free will itself probably exists but it doesn't always translate to any actual actions

 

[Al_stargate]

I think we have free will to make certain choices, what happens after we don't have control of. Like we make a certain choice and then things unfold, the universe sets a way, I guess. That's how I see it. But I think negative force can also manipulate things around us, and set up traps for us to fall into.

 

[Talvikki]

"In the mind there is no absolute or free will; but the mind is determined to wish this or that by a cause, which has also been determined by another cause, and this last by another cause, and so on to infinity."
Just because you feel free doesn't mean that you are free - for feeling free could simply be an illusion. Humans think themselves free because they are conscious of their action, but ignorant of their causes. If falling stones were conscious, they would probably believe that they were falling of their own free- will.

 

[jakaranda3]

free will is an illusion that result from our ability to think and make decisions. if someone superiour being knows exactly your thinking process, and all other variables, he can make accurate predictions of your decisions.

Do you think a worm has free will?

 

[Sunset Limited]

This site is proof that free will does not exist. If I was truly free, I would have put a bullet in my head already. SI does not allow this. Unknowingly, our impulses manipulate us all our lives. If there was free will, we could exist as we think. We all have a specific character and we think as we exist. Every person, while describing an event or object, actually reveals himself. The only way a will can be free is to create itself. We are faithful servants of our body. Most of the time I don't see freedom in the lives of billions who live just to keep breathing. It's more like they're trapped in a flesh body and can't escape. I think real freedom is not to choose, but to make options. I guess it has to do with the definition of "freedom".

 

[Dysgenic Pup]

I don't think Will will take kindly to anyone saying his life is worthless.

 

[walt]

Yes and no.

Gonna nerd out here, excuse me. Free will would, from my perspective (uh oh here we go, subjectivity!), mean that you have high bodily autonomy, knowing that your actions are your actions. But when you dig into the principles of the universe, or wacky physics laws that I cannot explain well enough, you do not have free will or agency. Firstly, you're bound to time, and time is something we will probably never control, among many other laws of nature.

How are we free if we eventually die from outside forces we cannot control? The problem with this is, even from a perspective of, oh well everything's bound to time so let's ignore that, you still don't really have free will.

You were created against your own will, whether or not you view that positively is up to you, and generally your parent's genetics play some part in your future. Though that's up for debate on your destiny, which I believe it's generally accepted that you aren't completely bound to them.

I still think that we have some degree of autonomy. We can choose what we do, and sometimes we can choose how we react to external stimuli.

But I also believe that people misunderstand what free will really means.
The problem is that we're tiny vessels in what is an almost infinitely large void and determining what is free will within this void that is all moving towards an already predetermined future, is kind of hard to do.
Things break into larger structures, so large you couldn't even imagine, so large a few of these structures violate cosmological principles. Some so small, that they cannot be observed, and are complex mathematical equations that make no sense. Ugh, I try not to dip my toes into quantum physics because it is confusing, but it will rattle your mind.

 

[Thefuture]

I say yes and no. The conversation is what makes shit a reality. But everyone fake as funky. Yes and no. Like shit only real once you speak it

 

[NSA]

Maybe it does for some people, but not for me. Otherwise I wouldn't be how I am.

 

[Nemeshisu]

I am not sure. Depends on how we define "Free Will". I mostly lean towards no though. I have slightly different approach to it than others. If we think about human biology then most biological processes actually do happen involuntary. The most obvious example of this would be beating of the heart. No matter how much an human will think about it, they won't be able to stop their heart from beating with the will alone. So, I would hardly call our will free if we are not even in full control of our bodies.

But there are some that may argue that the fact that we can think about disobeying our bodies even when we actually fail to do so would be "free will". If human wills something does not necessarily mean they will be able to do it. It is awarness of hypothetical ability to choose something else that's supposed to be "free will" to some.

 

[CreatifUsrnam]

Who knows.

 

[BruhXDDDDD]

In the most ultimate sense, I don't think any sort of free will exists. On the most fundamental level, the universe is best explained our understanding of physics. Ideas like the quarks, bosons, and gravity determine everything from how our brains work to why we don't phase through walls. So far, nobody has discovered any kind of mystical "free will force" that would allow us transcend cause and effect. The most frustrating responses to the free will question are where people claim that quantum randomness demonstrates free will. If something happens by random chance, you wouldn't blame anyone for it - it's obvious nobody has any real control.

Besides that, what would it even mean to have free will? It seems to me that it would have to be something completely inexplicable - something outside of both cause and random chance. I just can't imagine anything like that.

I'm fine with people believing in free will, but the idea becomes dangerous when people take it to mean that there's some inherent reason that bad people ought to suffer. It creates needless pain, such as with the excessive sentences given by the US justice system. I believe that we punish people, we should not pretend that it's for any higher sense of justice. We should only hurt people to enforce rules and keep people safe.

Sorry, I can rant about this topic for ages. It just frustrates me how little thought some people give it. Also gives me a very grim outlook when I sincerely believe that the only thing separating me from a serial killer is that I wasn't born as one.

 

[WorthlessTrash]

We do, but we are still (mostly) bound by potential consequences and our conscience.

 

[onlyanimalsaregood]

We do, but we are still (mostly) bound by potential consequences and our conscience.

I agree.

 

[LucyB]

Crazy how we use the word "will" to mean so many different things. No one in this realm is free or has free anything. We live in something that resembles a video game.

 

[Alex6216]

So many people misunderstand what free will means.
All 'Free will' is is being able to make your own choice. an example of free-will would be choosing to study programming or just wasting your time playing games, or choosing whether or not you should eat cake. It doesn't mean someone is able to fly or become a billionaire in a day if they 'do something', those are impossible.
If you present someone with five different options, that person isn't pre-determined to just chose one of the options, they are able to chose differently.
My life so far is perfect proof of free-will existing.

 

[YourNeighbor]

As others mentioned, free will does not mean omnipotence. We often have the ability to make choices given our circumstances, even if those choices can be influenced by nature, nurture, and our environment.

 

[Ashu]

The necessity of fatalism has been understood by some since the dawn of recorded thought, but a good contemporary case for it is Sam Harris's short book Free Will.

 

[sfabians]

All living things are c-nstrained by limitaticns.

 

[Seeking_Peace]

How can free will exist when humans are governed by law. Animals have more free will than we do.

 

[settheory]

Define "free will" more clearly first. It's too vague. Once we do, the question might get trivial or reduce to another question.