First of all, I like to point out that freewill is a poorly defined word and has multiple meanings. Anyway my question is how do we have freewill if we are not independent from our genes, chemical make-up, socialization, environment? I am NOT a theist so don't change the subject.
2007-02-03 17:19:17 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Well, there's also environment.
You have consciousness. You make decisions with intent. You see intent in others. That should be enough. Now, yes, you are a physical entity (as far as we know) and that does mean your decisions have a physical nature. In other words, if we "replayed" time itself, you would do the same thing.
I'm not in the slightest bit discomforted by that notion. Nature has enough "random entropy" that even if free will is an illusion, it's a damn good one. The only way to "predict" what nature would do is to build a computer, and that computer would itself BE nature.
Good enough?
2007-02-03 17:25:37 · answer #1 · answered by STFU Dude 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question. I'm not going to get into the god gave us free will thing because that would be a dead end. I am a theist by the way and I believe that in the beginning of life we do NOT have freewill. We do not choose to be born, who we are born too, or what class we are born in. Thats not very free. However I do believe that as we progress in life we do gain small amounts of freewill. We can choose what we do, where we live, and how we live our life. Either as a rouge and menace to society or as a citizen who abides laws. Laws would be another issue of freewill. If freewill was complete reign then I could kill that guy who cut me off in traffic and not worry about the consequences of jail or execution. That is not the case. I have to choose between two options. I am free to do that but the options are limited... are they not? I digress, so I'll sum up my thoughts: Life to me is not freewill. (Nothing in life is free, and there are always additional shipping charges, parking tickets, disease, poverty, and the call of law and justice.) Although we cannot change who we were born as- we can change who we become. I believe that is the closest we can come to freewill as of now. Maybe science and medicine, as they progress, can alter that. However as of now, that is my view point.
2007-02-04 01:39:47 · answer #2 · answered by jypsiiie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all we technically do not have freewill because we live in a society of structure, laws, and order. As those laws change so do our freedoms. Second, I do not think it is humanly possible to be free of our genes. Our genetics are kind of an important part of our bodies as well as our chemical makeup. No genes, no chemical structure, no ability to live. Third, we are not independent of socialization or the environment. We have to live in our environment and socialize to survive. If we did not we would die.
2007-02-04 01:29:58 · answer #3 · answered by Lily 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I personally never said we had freewill. I agree, we are made up of many things and I personally don't believe we have as much to do with our personalities and such as we would like to think. The people who shout about freewill are the Christians, not the Atheists. I have worked with a lot of Autistic children who quite frankly have no free will to choose to worship a god. They are messed up and that is not going to change.
2007-02-04 01:24:35 · answer #4 · answered by fifimsp1 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because you can choose to participate in life and society or not. Free will is simply the ability for you to make an informed choice of your own volition. We may be presented with a limited set of choices at each moment in life determined by the circumstances we find ourselves in, but choice is about perpetuating opportunity and having our choices take us towards opportunities we choose. When given the choice of two evils you may say you have no free will because you are being forced to choose between two evils - well you don't have to choose either and can even choose to end your own existence rather than being a tool (if you see it that way. That's what free will is about. Howveer you broach the subject of our consciousness superceding our biologic imperative - well that argument fails simply based on self-destructive behavior. If we were slaves to our genes then any self-destructive behavior we exhibit would be because of our genes and the biological purpose of life is to replicate so any behavior that was counter to that would not be possible if we were just slaves to our biology. Free will is about being more than slaves to biology following the biological imperative - free will means we are responsible for the choices we make - and accountable. Otherwise we would simply be animals not worthy of moral consideration.
2007-02-04 01:35:21 · answer #5 · answered by Jake Lockley 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If we did not have free will, there would be no conflict in us. For example, for whatever biological reason you feel like you want an ice cream sunday. At the same time you have conflicting feelings because you also want to lose weight. You kind of reason it out, or give in to whichever urge is strongest.
We go through conflicts like these all the time, and it is simply a matter of choosing what to do. That we are fed impulses and stimuli from within and without is no doubt, but still we decide if we are going to smoke that cigarette or not.
Free will does not mean being free of extraneous input. It simply means we decide.
2007-02-12 00:10:36 · answer #6 · answered by ignoramus_the_great 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't mean to be flip, but you mentioned our genetic codes.....if one has a mental disorder...say.....depression...and one sees a therapist...recieves a drug like halcyon that combats the Depression.....is having chosen to seek therapy, and taking a drug...a free will decision to combat your Genes? The same could be said for breast implants, liposuction, etc. Human nature is to control our environments. Now that we've discovered the control element at the genetic level, we're trying to learn to do things that can change the DNA structure. Like stem cell research. I think this indicates free will on the part of man to surmount genetic structure.
As far as environment......many people manage to overcome, or change, "their stars" (as it was so eloquently put by Heath Ledger). It's difficult...and how/where/when you were raised always influences you...but I don't think it is the sole determinant of free will.
2007-02-04 01:27:37 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Genes only make 50% of our "Choices." The rest is based on socialization and environment, but how exactly do those 2 affect us is unknown. Does free will exist or is it an illusion? I don't know.
2007-02-04 01:42:53 · answer #8 · answered by Alucard 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Socialization and environment does not cause you to do evil. Genes and chemical make-up may cause lack of intelligence or lack of abilities, but rarely lack of conscience.
They're good excuses, even in a court of law, but the choice, hard or easy, is still yours.
2007-02-04 01:27:32 · answer #9 · answered by angrygramma 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Free will may not exist, it might all be an illusion. Determinism vs. freewill, the debate continues.
2007-02-04 01:24:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋