Discussion Do you believe we have 'Free Will' ? (read description)

[Somber]

Explanation
Free Will is posessing the ability to make choices that are of your own volition, that are not the inevitable conclusion of your environment and the chemical processes in your body (and brain).

Posessing Free Will does not necessarily mean that it is absolute, as few would deny that environment and chemical reactions, such as hormones, play a role in our decision making process.

If you believe you have a say in the decisions you make, your answer is Yes.

If you believe all your decisions are made entirely by internal & external factors then your answer is No.


Consequences
It is often said that suicide is the ultimate expression of Free Will as indicated by the willpower needed by so many to overcome their SI, yet most of us would not contemplate suicide if certain conditions had been different.

If Free Will does not exist then we are a culmination of chemical processes that could not have us react in any other way than we have. Just like any other decision we seem to have made in the past, our decision to commit suicide (or not) was an inevitability that could not have played out any other way.

Free Will is an illusion.

This means that with enough processing power and an understanding of all variables we could predict the future perfectly in minute detail.

It also means criminals are being locked up for crimes they couldn't not commit. Locking them up was equally inevitable.

If Free Will does exist we are essentially acknowledging we are not just a physical body on a material plane as there is an element to us that stands in contact, yet transcends it. That which allows for agency to take place.


What do I fail to take into account?

 

[NumbItAll]

No, it is just a (very convincing) illusion. Our thought processes are the result of chemical reactions within the brain. We are basically organically occurring machines with consciousness. Everything is a result of our @GenesAndEnvironment. To some this may be depressing/disturbing but it doesn't really bother me tbh.

 

[Somber]

No, it is just a (very convincing) illusion. Our thought processes are the result of chemical reactions within the brain. We are basically organically occurring machines with consciousness. Everything is a result of our @GenesAndEnvironment. To some this may be depressing/disturbing but it doesn't really bother me tbh.

Logically speaking this also means that your future is already set in stone. You may not be aware of what will happen, but whatever does happen, was predetermined, correct?

 

[NumbItAll]

Logically speaking this also means that your future is already set in stone. You may not be aware of what will happen, but whatever does happen, was predetermined, correct?

I'm not sure about that since there is randomness at the quantum level. It is above my comprehension.

 

[callme]

No. How about free Adam, or free Catherine?

 

[settheory]

Criminal system does not and should not require any such notions as metaphysical free will, it should not depend on whether there is or no such thing. It does though use the colloquial concept of free will which does not even contradict metaphysical hard determinism. And besides, the concept of metaphysical free will is extremely ill-defined. Let's assume that there could be multiple paths the body and mind can "go" to that depend on volition. But then there is simply no meaningful difference between volitional, agent-causal free will and just chance.

If Free Will does exist we are essentially acknowledging we are not just a physical body on a material plane as there is an element to us that stands in contact, yet transcends it. That which allows for agency to take place.

Not really. We can interpret free will in a purely materialistic way, provided we also reject determinism. It would simply be a dependency or correlation between our will (what we want to do), and physical processes (the body and such), with there being different possible paths of evolution of physical processes or mind states.
I won't answer either yes or no because the question is somewhat ill-defined and more complicated than just "yes" or "no".

 

[Sanva]

i don't have free will because I'm a slave to my mental&physical illness. I do believe mentally healthy people have something like free will. They don't have full control over their lives of course but they have a say in their decisions. I don't think there's such a thing as fate and I don't think our future is set in stone.

 

[OrcWitch]

I don't know, even something minor like a headache will drastically change how I respond to someone or a situation.

I like to believe free will doesn't fully exist, because free will means the difference between me and a violent criminal is that I'm just "good" and they're just "bad". I don't want to live in a society that views people that way. Forces outside my control are the reason I am me, I don't think a "me" exists outside what the world setup.

I'm going to go with No.

 

[Somber]

Not really. We can interpret free will in a purely materialistic way, provided we also reject determinism. It would simply be a dependency or correlation between our will (what we want to do), and physical processes (the body and such), with there being different possible paths of evolution of physical processes or mind states.
I won't answer either yes or no because the question is somewhat ill-defined and more complicated than just "yes" or "no".

What is the origin of that 'will' you mention in above post if it's not limited to the physical processes you mention next?
Th

i don't have free will because I'm a slave to my mental&physical illness. I do believe mentally healthy people have something like free will. They don't have full control over their lives of course but they have a say in their decisions. I don't think there's such a thing as fate and I don't think our future is set in stone.

Then you assume we are more than just material constructs that act purely on chemical reactions?

 

[Julgran]

I don't think that we have free will to the fullest extent. Just think of your own lives backwards - you took Z action because of Y situation, which happened because you had X thought, and keep extrapolating that to your moment of birth.

Put differently, why did you think about posting in this thread, instead of thinking about blue elephants or yellow cars? We don't provide ourselves with our own thoughts, do we? They just occur to us, and then we act on them.

 

[Sanva]

Then you assume we are more than just material constructs that act purely on chemical reactions?

no, i just don't think those two things have to be mutually exclusive. I think mentally healthy people can to a certain extent choose how they react to something.

 

[settheory]

What is the origin of that 'will' you mention in above post if it's not limited to the physical processes you mention next?
Th

Then you assume we are more than just material constructs that act purely on chemical reactions?

will (what we want to do)

The answer is in the brackets. According to materialism, feelings, thoughts, wanting (will), etc. are reducible to material processes, and how true is this claim is a matter of a different question. I do not claim to be a materialist, just giving suggestions how free will can be compatible with materialism.

 

[dreadpirateroberts69]

The concept of free will was invented within the parameters of environment, brain chemistry, and various other factors, so I would say both yes and no, or neither, because I don't find the concept of free will to necessecarily be relevant or helpful. There will always be circumstances that cause people to be powerless.

 

[OrcWitch]

I switch my answer because in favor of Yes because it doesn't have enough support. #teamfreewill

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

No because even the desire to defy the status quo and exercise free will is still an instinct ingrained in many humans that proved advantageous for some of our genetic ancestors thus making it a trait that our DNA overlords continue to push on some people just to see if it works.

 

[Blondi]

I believe in free will because the bible says so.

Spoiler

(͡ ͡° ͜ つ ͡͡°)

 

[OceanBlue]

No, we only observe our thoughts and actions.

 

[fdnglnslanlnvlonfbo]

Interesting discussion on freewill

 

[Al Cappella]

Im all in on a deterministic universe, so it's a "no" from me. But we have the illusion of free will, without which we couldn't function.

 

[whatevs]

Explanation
Free Will is posessing the ability to make choices that are of your own volition, that are not the inevitable conclusion of your environment and the chemical processes in your body (and brain).

Posessing Free Will does not necessarily mean that it is absolute, as few would deny that environment and chemical reactions, such as hormones, play a role in our decision making process.

If you believe you have a say in the decisions you make, your answer is Yes.

If you believe all your decisions are made entirely by internal & external factors then your answer is No.


Consequences
It is often said that suicide is the ultimate expression of Free Will as indicated by the willpower needed by so many to overcome their SI, yet most of us would not contemplate suicide if certain conditions had been different.

If Free Will does not exist then we are a culmination of chemical processes that could not have us react in any other way than we have. Just like any other decision we seem to have made in the past, our decision to commit suicide (or not) was an inevitability that could not have played out any other way.

Free Will is an illusion.

This means that with enough processing power and an understanding of all variables we could predict the future perfectly in minute detail.

It also means criminals are being locked up for crimes they couldn't not commit. Locking them up was equally inevitable.

If Free Will does exist we are essentially acknowledging we are not just a physical body on a material plane as there is an element to us that stands in contact, yet transcends it. That which allows for agency to take place.


What do I fail to take into account?

Why would a trascendental part of us not be subject to cause and effect (determinism, lack of free will), like everything else? And how can something do something without a cause (the first cause, which had hypothetically speaking no parent-cause)?

But since all causes need a parent-cause, there isn't an actual beginning to reality, but an infinitely extending recursion of causes and consequences, each of them necessarily following the other like clockwork? Such are the mysteries of the birth of life and the Universe.

Free will certainly doesn't exist in the way superficial people envision it and your understanding of the subject comes close to mine, which I got from Arthur Schopenhauer.

 

[Sunset Limited]

The source of our every decision is a bodily need. How is free will possible if we cannot decide our own needs? If truly free will were possible, we could easily bring our abstract ideas to life. We could pretend to be whoever we wanted. We could exist as we think, but we are condemned to think as we exist.

 

[Istanbulite]

We don't

 

[Sherri]

No we don't, our lives are ruled by everyone above us. I wish I could leave in the days people would fight for freedom with so many who wanted to make the world a better place

 

[myopybyproxy]

I believe in free will because the bible says so.

Spoiler

(͡ ͡° ͜ つ ͡͡°)

Can't tell if you're being sarcastic but if you believe in that, are you not concerned about the afterlife if/when you go?

 

[Luchs]

I don't think so, but I would never argue that in public because people would just use it as a justification for their horrible behavior. I see it less that our life heads down a predetermined path like on rails, but more like a river, where you can move to the left and right and swim doen different arms, but the stream still pulls you aling a geberal predetermined path.

 

[lostundead]

>me using my free will to vote that free will doesnt exist

 

[symphony]

I love this topic. I find a lot of philosophy absolutely fascinating and I've been questioning "free will" for a while (I voted no). Of all sources I've seen discussing free will, I think this video explains it the best, and I hope you guys will enjoy it too.

 

[Sakura94]

Yeah intent exists beyond bio-mechanics.

 

[ornitier199]

Yes, I do.
However, free will is deterred in the world's built society.
Starting with forced living. Ugh, these sons of bitches (doctors and shit) have the audacity to force me alive to live to their or whoever else's agenda; their own volition.
No, now you catch me in the bathroom puking my guts out over that fact alone.

"Makes me wanna puke my guts out!"
-Kefka