Is there free will ? (rating, program, billion, world)

[dipr]

Or are we just a bunch of atoms floating around in space, with no choice about what happens ?

[Brontosaurus]

If we have free will we have a mental process operating in our brains that allows us to choose what we want to do. If free will is an illusion then we have a mental process that provides this illusion. I'm not convinced there is any difference in practical terms so why worry?

[ukrkoz]

https://www.city-data.com/forum/philo...-illusion.html

Do you have "will"? yes, of course. At least, it made you get as far as to your computer to ask the question. As will is a conscience mental effort to accomplish a certain task.
Is your will "free"? THAT is a very good question. To answer it, you need to determine what is your concept of freedom. Then you may revise your position on your Q.
I'd recommend a wonderful story by Jack London, Star Rover. It is a great example how a person can be 100% free, being 100% stripped of freedom.
As I said - you need to use your will to determine what is freedom to you. But when you find those answers, you are not likely to ask your original question anymore, OP.

[The_Southpaw]

Originally Posted by dipr

Or are we just a bunch of atoms floating around in space, with no choice about what happens ?

The answer to both questions is "Yes!" LOL.

We are of course comprised of atoms and molecules whom are on but one small planet out of trillions, and we're orbiting one average middle-aged star at about 66,000 miles an hour. And the Milky Way Galaxy of ours--also only one galaxy out of hundreds-of-billions--is also spinning around. And at the same time accelerating away from the point of the 14 billion year old Big Bang.

Yep, no gettin around it. We're tin little specks. More like microbes on a tiny little speck of sand on one beach and the universe is all the grains of sand on all the beaches in the world.

Fell depressed yet? LOL. I actually find that thought sort of liberating. Like this poster I have in my office. It shows a picture of the Milky Way and has a little arrow pointing to the outer edge where we are. The caption that the arrow point from says, "Next time you get too stressed out about something remember, You are Here!"

And sure we have free will. We can by and large do as we please. There are moral and societal constraints, for most of us normal folks of course. And we all have bosses and people to answer to but we are certainly ABLE to do what we desire. Our minds are for the most part free.

The opposing opinion of course to Free Will was those guys who believe in Destiny. Or Fate. Or the religious peeps who think God has a Plan for us. But not all religious folks think this. In fact many of them try to answer the old question of why there is Evil in the world with the answer (I think it's a lame one!)..."Well, God gave us Free Will."

So I do agree with this last part, though I am not religious, and I'm not sure God gave it to us, but YES we DO have Free Will. Within common sense limits. I certainly don't believe in a pre-programmed sort of Inescapable Destiny of Fate.

One caveat: we surely have nothing to say about what happens on a Universal scale. As far as Cosmology goes and the mechanics of the Universe. That's all way beyond out control. The Free Will I speak of pertains only to our own personal actions here on the Third Rock. LOL