Does free will exist or is it just an illusion?
First, let’s define what free will is. Free will let’s define what free will is. Free will is the ability to make our own decisions, acting without the constraint of fate or natural laws, or the influence of the environment or genetics. Free will allows us to choose what we want to do.
Some people believe that we have free will, but that might only be because we can comprehend our thoughts, actions and outcomes of our actions. We feel free because we feel like we make many decisions in our life. But how much does the outside world influence our decisions and thoughts? Are our thoughts free?
In contrast, there is determinism. Determinism is the belief that all events or actions are caused by previous events. For example, if I walk forward three steps, I stub my toe. And if I stub my toe, I will cry out in pain. This can be applied to other actions or our choices. Our choices can be caused by our thoughts, which stem from our subconscious mind, and outside factors.
This also means that someone could not have done anything other than what they did. A common argument against determinism is that they could have chosen the other option, that it was possible they could have decided to eat a banana instead of eating an apple today. And I agree with that.
But the thing is, you didn’t choose the other option, due to reasons like outside factors, and your subconscious mind. All of these little things count and made you decide not to go with the other option. When we make decisions, there is a feeling of freedom that we can understand. We are given a wide range of choices we can make and actions we can do at random. I can throw my phone across the room, yet I choose not to. This is because our actions have many invisible causes in our subconscious brains.
To conclude, I believe that free will exists, but not a lot of it. We are influenced by our experiences and our environment so much that even though we can choose whatever we want, it does not change too many things.
Determinism. (2016). In J. L. Longe (Ed.), The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 311-313). Gale. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3631000216/GPS?u=43dcbs&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=286e0352
Reeve, D. (2013, Summer). Free will: fact or fiction? Humanist Perspectives, (185), 6+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A338416156/GPS?u=43dcbs&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=4c9006ad
Osborne, T. M., Jr. (2005). Free will, Determinism, and Predestination. In M. C. Horowitz (Ed.), New Dictionary of the History of Ideas (Vol. 2, pp. 841-844). Charles Scribner’s Sons. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3424300291/GVRL?u=43dcbs&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=745b1007
