How much free will do we actually have?

Question

The link between eating and obesity is one of the most direct there is, and yet there are still millions of people in the U.S. who are obese. Often even those who talk about "personal responsibility" and who claim that poverty is a choice, that faith is a choice, etc... tend to be obese or overweight and are ironically incapable of "choosing" to lose weight in order to improve their health. Why is this the case?

Are these people simply being irresponsible and making the wrong choices, or is the biological drive to consume, coupled with an environment that encourages gluttony, too strong to overcome? And if we have that little control in a situation with such an obvious correlation between action and result, how much control do we have when it comes to rising above poverty, for example?

How much control do people really have over the choices they make? What percentage of choice is genetically or environmentally influenced, and what percentage can truly be attributed to free will?

No biblical quotes, please. Attempt to answer the question using reason, not recitation of scripture.

Answer 1

We actually have a great amount of free will. Using one your examples, obese people (those who are not so because of a medical condition such as thyroid issues) are using their free will and making a choice not to do certain things such as eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. People who are living in poverty (excluding those who are aged, mentally ill or caring for a mentally ill child) are choosing to remain poor. They are choosing not to work, move to where there is work, or become skilled.

Personal responsibility is important. It is very difficult for some to accept the fact they they are simply weak minded. It is easier to say that one has no control because then, they can no longer be blamed for or be the cause of their situation.

Because of habit formation, choosing to do something different can be difficult, but when was something worth have not difficult. It takes hard work to accomplish something, especially when it has become a habit. There is no magic potion or easy way and that is what some are looking for.

So yes, people can be very irresponsible. There is always help available to overcome addictions, obesity, etc. People just need to be willing to step out and do something to change.

Answer 2

Well, there is no objective way to quanitfy the level of free will we have. Any behavior is influenced by (a) the situation (b) biological drives and (c) personality traits (or individual differences, or "free will" if you may). As with most behaviors, people OVERESTIMATE personality influence (see "fundamental attribution error") - there is a strong biological impulse involved in eating (whether they be from overactivity in certain brain regions as found in rat studies), and I believe people underestimate the power of said impulses.

Of course, people like to believe in free will etc., which is why they readily ignore the influences of such impulses. For example. we have a biological drive to reproduce - theoretically, if we demonstrate certain personality traits, we could supress this impulse to some degree - but I doubt many, if any, would be able to have much success for long.

Hopefully once science advances far enough, people will be able to control the biological influence and exert more control using the other two sources of influence (personality & situation).

Answer 3

We have 100% free will. Percentage has nothing to do with it. Percentage only shows the percentage of people capable and incapable of rising above those influences which have proved to be hard for them to conquer. just because a challenge is difficult, doesn't mean we don't have the choice to overcome it.

Answer 4

We have the ability to choose how to live completely. The thing is, things that seem out of our personal control are usually caused by mass belief. Poverty, for example, is something that can be fixed, but because most people think it cant be, we dont do anything about it. Most people think they cant give up smoking, until they actually do it, then they realise it was their lack of will that stopped them from quitting.

Answer 5

the proof for me that we have free will and are not controlled by outer influences is that there are always some that escape the direst circumstances. how do you explain otherwise that disadvantaged children, born into poverty, abusive parents etc. make it into college, have an athletic career, start a small business and so on?! even when there's a mentor who helps, it's your choice to accept the help or not believe in yourself.