Is free will impossible?

[lacrimosa]

When it comes to free will, I believe that we're merely acting on instinct and responding to external stimulus based on our biological makeup.

Also, if we had real free will, we would be able to go back in time to change our decision(s). Because, once you make a decision, it's set in stone and has a domino effect.

For example: If you start a medication that affects your desire to eat less, you will eat less. Your desire to eat more or less is no longer controlled by your willpower or lack thereof. Again, this is based on biology or a drug you are taking that affects your biology.

 

[soonatpeace777888]

Free Will is a nonsense.

 

[CompressedAtoms]

To quote: in this economy?!

In the end you'll just need money. I guess free will also depends on the person, I think a life of just traveling by hopping trains or hitch hiking would be free-will for me.

 

[Mirrory Me]

One of the things is to understand that you are a doer of your own life, you don't owe yourself to anybody for the deeds they have done for you.

 

[Scythe]

If I didn't have free will I would've followed the teachings of my family and society and believe working until you die is the way to live, life is inherently valueable and suicide is bad. This is what almost everyone grows up in, yet here we are, I'm not the only one on this forum who's here because they genuinely hate how society works. We made our own decisions and formed our own opinions about this world.

 

[Just_Another_Person]

I'm not a physicist but I don't believe in free will given the first sub-atomic particle (or whatever came first) "decided" everything. Example: you have to choose between eating pizza or lasagna for dinner. What do you choose? Let's say you chose pizza because you prefer pizza over lasagna. And why do you have this preference? Maybe because your grandpa had a pizza place and you have fond memories of it. And why your grandpa had a pizza place? Maybe he had a secret recipe that his mother taught him after he asked for pizza and she said "if you want, go make it yourself" when he was a kid. If he was in the mood for other thing than pizza things could be different, but he wanted pizza. What made him want pizza that day? Saw a commercial on tv? Early a friend was boasting that they ate a whole pizza? And this goes on and on until the first "action" that happened in the universe. Oversimplifying, it is like billiard: the first move was done. Now all the ball's positions and choices to play derive from that movement.

This video is more focused on the multi-verse theory but the philosophy about free will in it is more or less the same one that I believe:

 

[Forever Sleep]

Free will is simply decision making- surely? Anyone can have the desire to steal something- if they can't afford it. They know they shouldn't do it. Some will, some won't. Maybe you could argue that some people have stronger genes to resist temptation. Or, they received a sterner upbringing that they musn't commit crime. I think it's lazy to just blame bad behaviour on factors out of our control though. I think they certainly affect how we behave but ultimately, I think 'we' get final say.

I'd say that's why judges etc. often try to push for culpability with serious crime. Maybe a person's past- if they were sexually abused for instance may make them more likely to commit acts of sexual violence on others. But, not everyone who has been abused, not everyone who even has violent thoughts will carry them out. To an extent, I think self control is a choice. An alcoholic either chooses to buy more alcohol or not. The desire is still there but our actions follow choice.

Maybe certain criminals are 'better' at being able to hurt others because they have psychopathy I guess. Still- they demonstrate that they know what they're doing is wrong when they seek to conceal their crimes. That's calculated. That is acting on free will if you like. They are making decisions to do these things and try and get away with them. If they were simply helplessly acting on their own impulses, would they even be able to realise that what they were doing was wrong? Would they be able to cover it up?

Surely, no one would be able to kill themselves if free will didn't exist. Suicide is absolutely against both natural and societal norms. You'd have to believe that everything in a person's make up and experience was pointing them towards suicide otherwise and, they were powerless to resist. What else but free will do we use to overpower our survival instinct?

 

[lamargue]

quantum indeterminacy doesn't negate macroscopic determinism (assuming that the brain doesn't follow the one-sidedness of physicalism), so i don't think that free will is achievable

 

[Pluto]

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Which Will are we trying to Free here? Will Smith? Will Ferrel? Willem Dafoe? So many Wills, so little time…

 

[avoid]

I believe in free will; people can make their own choices, including believing in determinism.

Free will vs determinism debates offer plenty of arguments for and against either side. Much like with religion, we can't prove or disprove either side with current day technology so you can believe what you want. Just don't claim your believe as factual and don't use determinism as an excuse for your actions.