Why are there atheists who believe in freewill? It's mostly a religious term...?

Question

I am an atheist, and I see "freewill" as a subjective and mostly meaningless term. Sure, when I get up in the morning, I can choose between a blue tie and a red tie, but big deal, all important decisions are dictated by circumstance. "Freewill" in the final analysis is just a term invented by religion to try to justify, with woeful inadequacy, the horrendous fate that supposedly befalls those who "sin."

Neuroscience tells us we are making choices based on the available information relative to the information we have stored in our brains. The brain is essentially a probability calculator that increases in complexity throughout its growth and experience.

So why believe in freewill in the first place? Because it falsely gives us a sense of control when there is none. It gives us a reason to hate people who are merely victims of circumstance.

Answer 1

You are right. If there is nothing beyond the natural world, then everything is determined by the laws of nature.
However, even people who believe this, generally act as if they have free choice. Well, how could a person act otherwise? We feel as if we have choices.

Answer 2

This "circumstance" you speak of that seemingly contradicts the possibility of someone having free will in a situation is actually a complex system of wills acting freely but also interacting with other free wills. In other words, it is a complex system that is not reducible to the total control of one unit of many of every aspect of his or her situation. The very fact that we CAN make and act on a decision shows that we at least have influence over what comes next. This influence is dictated by the choices we (and others) make at any given time.

To believe there is no free will is to allow yourself to become a victim. The "victim mentality" is well known and is borne of a false sense of helplessness. Often the person does not realize what choices are available or loses the desire to change (despair).

To my understanding, "free will" is a philosophical, not a religious term. It is merely appropriated to explain the philosophy of some religious ideas, such as the problem of pain (C.S. Lewis). I'm sure I'm not covering it all, but if you see free will as subjective and nonexistent, then you may fail to understand the impact your choices have on your life and the lives of those who interact with you. You could choose to rob a bank or give to the poor. One path diverges from the other; your future is VERY different on these different paths, and the choice would be all yours.

Answer 3

We're making choices based upon the conditioning we have. The conditioning results in hard-wired effects on the brain which dictates our actions. It's very important to keep in mind that becoming aware of this conditioning is the first step in the means for choosing to recondition ourselves. If we see our patterns and thoughts and our conditioned responses and if we understand that the brain can be reconditioned, we can then recondition our brains. Furthermore, if we watch the mind closely enough, we can also see that the very psychological self that we think is real is just a conditioned idea. Of course, it begs the question: what, then, is watching all of this? That's a natural koan that can aid in training our mind to overcome the attachment to the idea that the psychological self as being a real thing. And all of this does involve choice -- of course, the choice would be motivated by a set of conditioning that was so painful that it would lead one to consider if there was a way to recondition ourselves. Final note: this is essentially what is meant by karma. Although many think of it as some mystical force, it's really just 'conditioning'. If my grandfather beats my father's self-esteem down then this conditioning results in my father's relationship to the world (and his children) being negative and continuing the pattern until, of course, someone in the successive generations sees the patterns and attempts to overcome them.

Answer 4

I really think that Spacebunny said it best. Free will is a philosophical concept, not a religious one.

In fact, free will is not, as I see it, an element of religion at all. It is taken for granted that God exists, that Jesus was His son, that he died for our sins, etc. You are asked to believe this, not on the basis of any kind of evidence, but on faith alone. How does one have free will, or make an informed decision, on the basis of nothing? I am a former Catholic, and was raised to believe that babies are born in sin, and unless purified by baptism they will go to "limbo" if they die. That reeks of pre-determination to me, and I rejected that religion in favor of Secular Humanism for a myriad of reasons. Then I began to question everything, including my own beliefs, behavior and relationships with others.

I do not believe in "destiny", or a pre-determined fate. I believe that nature and nurture play a role in the choices we make, but that isn't all there is to it. If it was all pre-determined, what would be the point of living? My philosophy holds that once you throw off the more negative aspects of your origins and upbringing, including religion, you learn what freedom and responsibility to your fellow human beings entail. There is a price to be paid for that because you are truly on your own, with no refuge and no excuses, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Answer 5

A false sense of security is better than no sense of security.

I am sorry about your broken heart.

If you were here in the Zoo with me, I would give you a big Hug and lie to you and say, "don't worry everything will be all right".

Answer 6

There is no freewill. Previous experiences dictates any choices we make.

Answer 7

You fail to prove that "all important decisions are dictated by circumstance," and as such your argument fails.