Does free will eliminate cause and effect relationships?

Question

If our choices are not an effect of a preceding cause, how are they formed?

Answer 1

"Does free will eliminate cause and effect relationships?"

no. why would it? cause and effect doesnt have much to do with free will.. free will simply give us our own choices... if something bad happens to you.. its because of your bad choice.. and sometimes these bad things happen to you because of other people's bad choices.

"If our choices are not an effect of a preceding cause, how are they formed?"

by our minds.. we make the choices.. events are presented to us.. we make the decisions..

Answer 2

If you cut down a tree, are you not the cause of it? The initiator of the event? You wouldn't blame your mother, would you? In that God is the Creator of mankind, and endowed them with intelligence and free will, how can He be held to account for it? This, I assume, is the gist of your query, is it not? That if God is the first cause, then all subsequent effects must be laid at His feet, n'est ce pas?

While it is true that He could have elected not to give us a free will, it is also plain that He did. Would you fault God for YOUR choice to abuse your free will in those instances where you have hurt or offended others? Would you lay your precious freedom on an altar of sacrifice in order to never hurt or offend again? Why not? If you would not give it up, then you have no right whatever to blame God.

Tom

Answer 3

You are presuming that God needs worship. God wishes us to live God pleasing lives. We have free will to worship or not. Its a price we pay for being allowed to live. Noah's ark tells us that if there are only bad humans, God will destroy them, but if their is even just one good human God will save him out of mercy. Your arguments presumes a soul which is either good or bad skewed. Human souls are neutral. A lot of physiology is concerned with how a human builds his character. Part of being an adult is considering your choices and actions and bearing the consequence for them. A human is always capable of change and is not a set personality throughout his life. If as an adult you make a wrong choice, you cannot blame anybody but yourself. Not your upbringing, nor your soul. In scenario 2 that's is free will. All may choose to live according to God's Law or none or a percentage. God is conscious and therefore has a will. Why did he bother with creating? I don't know God's mind but would say he wished for beings to experience life or consciousness. An animal cannot choose 'consciously', that is why God elevated humans above animals and 'talked' to us. Its the nearest we can get to being God and enables us to prove our worth. Why do people have children? The human race is not dying out and no children means more money for the household. We enjoy company and are intrigued by other peoples actions. We where made in the image of God. I believe this to mean our souls where and thus God loves his creations and cares about them. God is not influenced by emotions, he simply makes choices based on complete knowledge. As he cannot learn experiences he does not change.

Answer 4

Free will is one concept,

'Cause and effect' is another concept.

For every choice, it depends upon how you weight your perception. For instance, you might be jealous of your best friend because he stole your girl friend. However, if you choose to ignore that emotion altogether and instead emmerse one'self in work to achieve a specific goal, the obviously cause and effect is cutt off in favour of free will.

Another way to think of this: If you make your decisions based upon outside stimulus, (in a reactive way), they you will be thrown around by the waves of course and effect. However, if you make your decisions based upon rational goals which are not dependent upon outside circumstances, then one will not be disappointed by circumstances.

If you set your heart on a girl, she may turn you down. So this goal is subject to outside forces. If instead you set your goal as maintaining a healthy social life, then it is up to you to maintain that social life by continually maintaining friendship networks.

Free will is simply the freedom to choose between a number of options (free from direct divine control). If you make goals to suit one's own needs dependent upon obtaining possesions, wealth, power or women, then you will be happy or sad depending upon if those needs are met. How you set your goals will determine whether you suffer karma or cause and effect.

Answer 5

Cause and Effect
and
Random Chance
Are the processes that create our experience.
Free Will only exists if God doesn't.

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-40gi9FY_cqUsUz0bkdbMcwxm?p=16

Answer 6

No. Effect is the result of previous choice(s). One can be influenced by prevoious choices; but they are still 'free will choices'.

Answer 7

The butterfly effect is that the flap of the wings adds to the formation of the hurricane.

Actions will have consequences.

Answer 8

when i see question like this , i think that free will doe not exist that it is an illusion.
in the end we are just a bunch of elementary particles that behave to rules, so were is the free will then ?

Answer 9

Free will does not mean you WILL do anything, only that you have the ability to do so.