What creates our 'will'?

Question

Can I change my will or is it part of me like my body or is it part of my soul?

Answer 1

You have free will and it can change according to your experiences. If you continually make bad decisions from that free will of yours, you'll keep getting knocked around until you learn the lesson and then your free will causes you to make different decisions.

Will is a component of the mind (brain) therefore, body ... not the soul, which is your spirit.

Answer 2

I used this recently in one HUGE answer to another question, I repost only the relevant section:

<<< Non-existence of free will >>>

First, a definition: FACT n. (fakt). 1. A statement that expresses one idea and can be falsified.

Notice that 'fact' does not mean true or false in the logical context -- 'the sun is made of water' is a false fact, 'the sun is powered by gravity and fusion' is a true fact.


Let's start by looking at the assumptions of science. Science makes three assumptions, and only these three: math & logic are valid; our observations, unaided or aided, are valid; if there is a nonmaterial/supernatural/spiri... realm, it cannot have an effect on the natural, material world.

Without math and logic, we cannot prove or disprove. We can accept this 'assumption' as a tautological axiom -- that is, an unarguable, but unprovable, fact.

We cannot prove that our perceptions are valid -- we could be brains in a jar connected to a complex simulation or we could literally be just software running on a massive computer. These ideas cannot be falsified, so we must accept our perceptions as valid purely axiomically. That is -- what we sense is valid. If a tool is used, its validity is based on what is known of scientific theory. A telescope follows known formulas of optical science, so is valid. A crystal ball is not defined scientifically, so is invalid -- BUT... if parapsychology could construct duplicatable and controlable results with a crystal ball, it would potentially be valid.

The assumption of the supernatural not interfering in the natural world is vital. If the supernatural interferes with the natural world, we can never be sure of what we do now. The supernatural that is making gravity follow X Y and Z formulas may tomorrow decide that A Y and 4 are the new formulas. Notice that science is agnostic -- it does not accept or reject the supernatural, it just makes a required assumption if we are to know anything at all.

Okay, first -- we need to define what free will is and then construct a falsifiable hypothesis, and then look at what evidence exists to disprove it.

I will define free will as such: Free will is the ability to act in a way independant of one's past experiences and current perceptions.

We now look at the hypothesis: "Free will exists." To prove that this is false, I need to show that we are in fact restrained to our experiences and perceptions in our actions. Most would take this as a tautology but I promised proof, and I will do this with three ideas:

1. The universe and its contents are governed by computable rules [true under the math & logic axiom of science].
2. The mind is not an external, nontangible source [true under the nonmaterial/supernatural axiom of science].
3. The human mind is a process of the brain. [consequence of 1 and 2].

Since the brain is embedded in the universe (1), it is governed by computationally-possible [though not necessarily feasible] rules. Since the mind is a process of the brain, it is also governed by computationally-possible[thoug... not necessarily feasible] rules.

This establishes through the Turing-Church Thesis that the human brain is Turing Complete, as is any process it runs.

The brain is a computer, the mind is the software running on the computer. A computer runs on input, state, rules, and output. The input of the brain is the senses, the state is the sum total of all its previous experiences and behaviors, the rules are the rules of physics, chemistry, biology, and neurology, all summed in neuroscience, and the output is behavior.

Therefore, the mind can do nothing that is not computationally predicated on its inputs and state, and all behaviors are therefore computable.

Free will cannot exist.

This does NOT mean that we do not make choices, however. The fact computation happens in fact means that choices are DEFINATELY made -- it's just that the choice is predetermined by the input and the states. If you could ever be returned to exactly the same input and state, you would produce exactly the same output.

Answer 3

Your will is actually the will of God. It seems like your own because God allows a multitude of choices for you to make in every situation you are faced with. This makes it seem as though you are exercising free will.

The trick is God already knows the outcomes of all of the possible choices you could make.

All of it is carefully designed to lead you home to God where you started from.

It never really matters which choice you make. What matters is what you learn from the choices you have made.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 4

Your Will Resides in your Soul.
Your Soul (invisible Spiritual Super-Computer) contains your:
1. Mind (Second mind)
2. Will (what you use to make Decisions with---ie. "I will go to the Store)
3. Emotions---feelings so on.

Answer 5

"You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!" [Psalm 139:16]

If you want the Christian perspective, or at least the one presented by this part of the bible, then there is no free will. "Free will" is an illusion as people follow the path already chosen for them.

Answer 6

you can change some things consciously, but some parts are subconscious--like whether or not you would ever take a human life--and that part is almost impossible to change

Answer 7

Your lawyer can help you create a will.

Answer 8

Your will is your ability to choose. How you choose determines pretty much everything else.

Answer 9

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