Do atheists believe in free will?

Question

Have you thought about Hawking and Russell on this regard?


"The initial configuration of the universe may have been chosen by God, or it may itself have been determined by the laws of science. In either case, it would seem that everything in the universe would then be determined by evolution according to the laws of science, so it is difficult to see how we can be masters of our fate." -- Stephen Hawking

"The first dogma which I came to disbelieve was that of free will. It seemed to me that all notions of matter were determined by the laws of dynamics and could not therefore be influenced by human wills." -- Bertrand Russell

Answer 1

I see life as a massive quantum clockwork. We are simply cogs with "free will." But in itself, this "free will" is nothing but electric currents and chemical balances carefully working away for us. We hardly realize it, but we are a massive chemical equation, and like any chemical equation, we will give a definite result.

Answer 2

I know we have at least the illusion of free will. But do we really have free will? There is no way to conduct an experiment that can falsify the hypothesis of free will, since there is no way to completely save a moment of spacetime and then replay it to see if a person does exactly the same things under the same circumstances.

It may be that we really do have free will but only because of quantum mechanics. Or it may turn out that free will can manifest through just classical mechanics.

Perhaps free has developed only because of the chaos of human interactions. After all, I would be doing something totally different right now if I hadn't read your question.

Answer 3

My two cents,First of all anyone can will anything one wants to,but that does not mean it will happen. In the begining it was the WORD,and the word was "THINK" and then think again. Free thinkers is what gives man and woman the freedom of will. "I think therefore I am" once upon a time most believed that our beautiful planet was flat.Then along came Chris Columbus.using his ability to think freely. He came up with the idea that the world was round ,and that he could sail around it with out sailing off the edge. That scared many that couldn't think freely and believed all they were told.Not being bound by the dogma of the day he set off to prove his educated thought and the rest is history. If it weren't for people like him we would still be afraid to wander to far off from the castles and cities for fear of falling off.
Hawkins and Russell speak of laws of dynamics.Laws that they themselves were ,or are still afraid to try and break as Columbus did. If not for free thinkers we would still be throwing virgins into volcanoes to keep them from erupting.Religion does not allow man to think beyond the limits that a so called god set for man.We would have no space exploration if some of us did not choose to disbelieve the truths of the bible(a book of doom and gloom) Yes virginia ,there are atheists, and its not their free will they excersise. It is thier free thinking that gets things done . Not because of a god, but inspite of it. These gods and religions are not a good thing,but very bad. For two thousand years the most crulest and horrifying things that man has done to fellow man is because we do not have enough free thinkers. Just to many cowards afraid to have that will of free thought because they somehow think it will keep them out of heaven. The laws of nature has something much greater then heaven instore for us.Wisdom comes from dought. Dought causes thought, thought causes wisdom. Dought it, Think then think again.

Answer 4

They're both talking about the physical universe, not the lives of individuals. Obviously we can't change the laws of nature, like gravity, celestial mechanics, weather, earthquakes, tides, etc. No one claims that those things are subject to our will. Hawking and Russell are not talking about our daily lives. Our fate is what we make of it. I can decide whether to lead an honest life or to lie, cheat and steal. It's my choice.

Answer 5

the only way primitive faith exists on the on the spot is through the youngster abuse of forcing it into very, very children yet as as a results of the added ideal practise and turning out to be intellects such extremely some youthful human beings are waiting to locate the reality, throw off the indoctrination and step into the genuine international! accordingly they have the academic and mind to have loose will and workout it. yet you one way or the different confuse it with the liberty to commit crime and sin which easily involves Chrsitian excuses for it and isn't any longer something to do with athesim?! analyze exhibits that the reason human beings conflict with emotion to locate equitable recommendations is pinpointed the area of the mind said as the insular cortex, or insula, it somewhat is likewise the seat of emotional reactions. the actual shown reality that the mind has this variety of excellent reaction to unfairness exhibits that sensing unfairness is a worry-free advanced ability. The emotional reaction to unfairness pushes human beings from severe inequity and drives them to be honest. This remark exhibits our worry-free impulse to be honest isn't an advanced element that we study. It for this reason completely illustrates that all human beings have morals managed through the mind and that Christians are totally incorrect to purpose to declare morals as their own!!!! yet Christians discovered a fashion round it! authorities records instruct that christians are vastly over represented in prisons for sexual, violent and fraudulent crime at the same time as 3 hundred and sixty 5 days on 3 hundred and sixty 5 days authorities figures instruct atheists make up only 2% of the penal complex inhabitants! The Catholic church is paying tens of millions in reimbursement for the sex/pedophile crimes of their clergymen on my own! Christians are vastly over represented contained in the divorce courts! Christians invented the theory of sin and then the conception so that you could sin, ask forgiveness, get pardoned and start up with a clean sheet! So no wonder that they are so professional at it really is it?! A Christian is a guy that feels repentance on Sunday for what he did on Saturday and is going to do on Monday. - Thomas Russell Ybarra

Answer 6

We have free will in the sense that we are able to make decisions for ourselves and we don't run on automatic like a virus. However, this was not given to us... it's just the way things are.

Answer 7

I don't think their comments reflect free will in the sense of I can choose what I want to eat tomorrow. Free will has to exist to some degree. I think they are refering more to our effect on the natural world and it's effect on our fate.

Answer 8

There is actually very little free will, as we are mostly pushed by our genetics and the way our genes are expressed.
However, people that on top of that are subject to conditioning as well are really screwed even more.

Answer 9

You mean we can't control the universe...damm!!
Having free will to live your life and make choices is not the same as being able to control the physics that the universe is formed by.

Answer 10

Free will isn't bound to the laws of science. I can choose what kind of car I want to drive, among other things....