WILearned

Free Will - Do we have it? (Patreon)

Published:

2017-11-12 05:22:46

Imported:

2024-01

Tags:

free will the self

Poll

Free Will - Do we have it?

Yes - (1) is most accurate 8
Yes - I'm between (1) and (2) 8
Yes - (2) is most accurate 16
Sort of - I'm between (2) and (3) 20
No - (3) is most accurate 18
Yes, but disagree with these examples. (Please comment) 1
Sort of, but disagree with these examples. (Please comment) 0
No, but disagree with these examples. (Please comment) 0

Content

Question: Do we have free will?

How I'll define free will for the purposes of this poll: Free will is the ability to act at one's own discretion & one's motivations for action are "willed" into existence by the self.

For example: In my case, I could make the decision to quit making youtube videos and start taking lessons to become a singer at any time, regardless of my circumstances. I have the free will to quit writing this post and start searching for schools that provide voice lessons. I could be depressed as a result of recently losing my legs in a bicycle accident, and I could still make the decision to say "F this moping around and F this youtube channel, I'm going to become a singer NOW." And, this uncharacteristic decision should not be interpreted as a response to my new circumstances, but a display of my free will. Then, if halfway through training to become a singer, I decide that this was a bad idea and I should go back to making youtube videos, that will also be entirely my free will.

Then, which of the following best represents your stance on the question of whether or not we have free will?

(1) Yes. Based on the example and definition you gave, we have free will.

(2) Yes, but it's limited. We are constrained by things like culture, our beliefs, our emotions et cetera, but we have some ability to choose how to react to situations.
※For example, if I lost my legs, there are several courses of action I may take: (a) Move back to Texas to be with my family (b) Mope around playing video games for an unspecified amount of time (c) Get some prosthetics, do physical therapy and continue living life as I have. But I wouldn't have the free will to do something totally uncharacteristic of myself like (d) taking the steps necessary to become a bank clerk in brazil. So, I have the free will to choose between a,b or c, but not d.

(3) No, we are just an information processing algorithm. Just like we didn't choose how we were born, who raised us in what manner, or who the people attending our high school would be, we didn't choose what things motivate us, what likes/dislikes we have or what kind of people we're attracted to. After birth, the incredibly complex algorithm in our brains/bodies began rapidly taking in massive amounts of information and our actions are simply responses to that information. Free will and the self are illusions that are helpful to the survival of the species.