How can an intellectually, emotionally, and even spiritually limited Human Being truly poses Free Will?

Question

Or is Free Will an illusion, custom-made for all of us limited beings, after all? ... In other words, is it a complementary notion to justify, balance and supplement one's actions, faith and powers of imagination?


P.S. I am NOT trying to be confrontational, nor offensive to anyone. … I am merely asking a logical question and would appreciate your sincere responses.

Answer 1

FREE WILL IS GREAT!

Of course it takes a civilized person to realize that observing laws of the land is also required.

Answer 2

You can't get a free lunch these days, so why would you get a Free Will? Seriously, from a religous standpoint, all I can testify to is that when I decided to read a book, pick up this computer and browse Yahoo Answers, or get on a bike and ride, it is me making that decision and not an omnipotent deity. I suppose the deity could make the decision and plant a seed of a thought into my mind so that I only believe I have made the choice, but if the simulation of Free Will is so good that I believe I have Free Will, then it does not matter because I believe I have it.

Ethically, morally, and in reality, there are some things in which we do not have Free Will...we all have to visit relatives on the holidays even though we might rather take this vacation time and go to Bora Bora...we might rather sleep in and not go to work, but we go anyway (against our Free Will?) because the paycheck we get in reward is too good to pass up.

I guess I would conclude that I have Free Will, but choose to do things (or not) because only I have decided what is important to me and taken the appropriate action. An external influence in the form of a Creator may exist, but it is so well hidden in its manipulations that for practical purposes I have Free Will anyway. External influences do exist which perhaps cause me to take action that some part of me would rather not, but even this is being presented with choices and making them...Free Will in action.

Answer 3

I dont believe in free will , and I dont see how anyone does. Considering the fact that you are a product of your genes and environment, and that you are in control of neither, doesnt it seem logical that every decision you made was influenced and predetermined by who you are and what is around you. in other words, everyting you do is a reaction to pre exiating factors and conditions. Only energy is independent of the cause- effect domino theory, but energy exists and this is all it does. Given all this, sometimes I wonder whether morality really exists at all, or whether it is just a control mechanism invented by human being to control violence and chaos from taking over their communities and lives. IF a criminal kills someone, and say this criminal inherited anti social genes, which are proven to exist, and if he also grew up in a violence ridden home, what right do we have to take his life? Furthermore, it seems logical to conlude that there is no such thing as courage, individual accomplishment, and merit, as all of these things were maybe a reaction and a natural conclusion, not a choice, However we need the illusion of free will in order to feel a sense of worth when we "acomplish " someting, or a sense of guilt when we "fail" at something. The illusion of free will keeps society from falling apart

Answer 4

Free will is not an allusion. Even though God knows the choices we will make before hand we do not. We will be judged upon our own choices. It is the only fair way for us to be judged that is the biggest reason he does interfere in a lot of things like murder and rape. He also knows that this is just a speck in time for us and we will be OK on the other side after we die. This is the only way we can learn for our selves what we would do.

Answer 5

Free will is certainly limited. For example, I cannot simply begin to fly just because I want to. I am still subject to the laws of nature. This does not make free will any less of a reality, but it can often be misunderstood. Free will is not the ability to do something, it is the ability to desire something. The ability to do something is freedom; the will implies desire.

In Christian terms (if I may speak in Christian terms to illustrate my point), free will is not simply reduced to whether or not I should have sex tonight, but is the ability to rationally consider whether or not I should have sex tonight. To blindly say yes is not freedom, because there is a sense of slavery to the gratification that sex provides. Instead, free will suggests that I have the power (freedom) to accept or reject my desires.

Answer 6

Yes, humans can!

Now, free will extends as far as possible things. We may have the free will to fly like a bird, but it is not possible. So we dont' have that free will. Is that kinda what you're getting at?

I think some poor souls living under dictators and communism have much of their free will squashed by the government. But it still exists, it just cannot be expressed.

Answer 7

Free will means you are free to make whatever choices that you want to. It does not mean that you are free from the consequences of those choices. Example. My dog does not have free will. She goes into heat and mates if a male is around. She gets pregnant and reproduces. She has no choice in this matter it just is. She then nurses and weans her pups. Humans on the other hand can choose to mate, they can choose to avoid pregnancy. Then they can choose to raise their children or give them up to another to raise. This is an example of free will. But whatever they choose they will still have to face the consequences of their actions.

Peace of Christ,
Debra

Answer 8

The moment you put limitations on yourself you close doors to your spiritual self. That is the whole point to achieving enlightenment. Yes we are limited because we are human. But we must distance ourselves from humanity in order to properly express our free will. Free will is a spiritual power not a temporal one. The Bible, Koran, and Baghavad Gita all teach about that. Even Taoist teach that.

Answer 9

In a deterministic universe, where every cause has its effect, and every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction...

Well, in such a universe every single interaction between every single atom was determined at the big bang (and the big bang was determined ?).

Your brain is a physical thing working on the same physical principles as all other matter in the universe. Considering that there is no such thing as randomness in the universe, your behavior is merely a reaction to the universe around you.

Answer 10

FRee will,as the word imply, means having the complete manouvering of things in ones hand in relation to things which has something to do with himself. But, since free will is given as an "opportunity", each individual must have the accompanying responsibility for every advantage he has taken/has to take. God virtued man rationality for him to decipher things and to discern good from bad....

Answer 11

I'm very impressed with the asker posing this question; one of the few really deep intellectual questions posted so far.

To possess true free will, one would have to live out their life; cover ALL dynamic facets of their existance, without concern of how others view them.

But ah: does true "free will" exist? I'm inclined to say, no.

Even "free will" has guidelines one is forewarned NOT to cross; every action carries circumstances each one of us has to bear responsibility for--be such positive or negative. You live life as you are comfortable with and see fitting to exist as your own individual, aware of life's guidelines--which do exist.

Any one of us lives by our perceptions of free will; be that person free or incarcerated. Any way we choose to live, exist will likely have people who agree / support, offend / object.....or will simply be neutral, not caring how others live.