Do we really have control of ourselves?

Question

Some say we have free will but I believe that we have no control what so ever. Think about it. All of our decisions are based off of things that have happend or things that we have learned earlier in our life. So do we really have free will? and does everyone around us control ourselves by influence, and vice versa?

Answer 1

You're suffering from an elementary confusion. "Free will" does not mean we are free of all influence. In fact, the ability to be influenced by a variety of factors in making our decisions is one of the hallmarks of free will. Without it, our actions would be random, arbitrary. With it, we can respond to vast amounts of data and experience with deliberate, decisive, rational action.

THAT's free will.

Answer 2

When I read this question/post the first thing I thought of were the swallows that fly south every winter, or the whales who migrate north in the summer.
Free will is what separates man from beast (four leg kind)
Instinct directs much of our destiny: reproduction, for example, However, with sub-species, such as the swallows or the whales they are driven by pure instinct. I don't think that the whales really stop and think about the pattern of migration during specific climate changes and then rationally decide to not go this winter. As humans, we will most certainly determine that going north during the winter months will be postponed until summer. Just the opposite, however, we may choose to move north as the snow falls. Free choice, free will, free country...
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and this could not be a better example of free will choices. When using our experiences to decide the best course of action, as a rule our decision is usually a decent one. When we don't use our experiences, the decision we make tends to turn out less than we hoped.
Our experiences are equally our choice, to a point. Those born to drug addicted mothers, those born to poor people, those born to rich, those born with physical handicaps or deformities experiences are going to be different, but experiences nontheless.
Fate only is when you sit back and do nothing, about anything, at anytime, or anywhere. Then you are subjected to whatever happens where-ever you are, whenever it happens, however it happens. then you could honestly say, fate took over for you, you made no choices whatsover, using any experiences for you would then have none..
You can choose to be influenced by whatever you want. The most interesting part of life however, is allowing yourself to be influenced by every thing you can then using that influence to determine exactly what you truly believe in or like.. what feels good to you. In the meantime you have learned more and more about life, people and what it means to be "human".
Remember, knowledge is power....

Answer 3

We have free will. Things can influence our decisions and actions, but that doesn't mean that those factors control us. If we wanted to, we could simply disregard everything we have learned and make decisions on instinct. But the fact that we are humans means we have a great potential for learning, which often comes as a result of past experiences.

Answer 4

Yes we do have complete control, you answered your own question in the question. You had to learn those lessons first before you could make the educated decision the second time around. Not everyone goes by what they've learned from the past some people are pretty unpredictable but you seem kinda young so you'll figure it out soon. Oh and I think you missed the point of my question.

Answer 5

So is your contention that an accretion of experience removes free will? Experience is so vast, and so much of what we experience takes place on a subconscious level, that if it is chiefly what is determining our choices, we can't be aware of that fact. Not only that, but it fails to take into account the vast amount of brain chemistry and choice making that, according to modern studies, is hard wired into our brain. That the choices we make are the results of the sum of our experiences added to our unique brain chemistry and bio-electric patterns may sound like it would rule out free-will. However, the paradox is that it instead creates free will. And any attempt to abrogate free will is an attempt to dodge the responsibility we should all be taking for our choices. Oh, the Twinkies made me do it. Oh, it was the poverty and abuse I suffered. I had no choice in the matter. Bull-byproducts! There is always choice. If it comes down to it, there is always the most basic of free choices, offered to us by Hamlet: to be or not to be. And if you think you have no free will, try killing yourself to prove otherwise.

Answer 6

I highly recommend that you read a book by Phil McGraw called "Self Matters". It is a very insightful look into the all to prevalent phenomena of people not being in control of their lives. However, once this lack of control has been identified and faced by the individual, the process can begin whereby one can re-take control of one's life and self, thus re-creating their self to suit their self.

Answer 7

Given our ability to reason and to act in ways that do not enhance our survival for the benefit of a meaningful cause, such as the soldier who sacrifices himself to save his unit, it would appear that we do have the capacity to control ourselves. However, it also appears that much of our behavior is hard-wired into us, albeit disguised into forms that at least appear to be socially acceptable. All species are driven to exploit their environments to the maximum limit that the environment can sustain: most species do this by sole means of reproduction. Humans, however, exploit their environment not only through reproduction, but through extracting, producing, and consuming resources at a rate that far surpasses the environment's capacity to sustain our species. The result for our species will be the same as it is for any species that overexploits its environment: a mass die-off. If we are truly are unique in our ability to choose behavior that runs contrary to our hard-wiring and the genetic imperatives common to all organisms, then we will alter our civilization, our technology, and our personal lifestyles to a more sustainable form before our environment completely collapses. As of this date, there is no evidence to suggest that we have even begun to make the necessary changes to survive. Clearly, hardwiring is still in charge and running us into the ground.

Answer 8

Things that you have learned only influence your decision if you are unwilling to learn new things.

Answer 9

to a certain extent we have free will (most of us, but not all) . . I believe in fate to a certain extent, but you still have the choice to make a change, it lies in your own hands

Answer 10

no we dont