Discuss your opinion of 'free will' and if you believe how do you explain that people rarely attain it.

Question

Free will as stated indicates we have some control over our lives. Do we?? Explain your answer, no canned internet website answers

Answer 1

We have control over whether we do right or wrong, or over any decision we make in our lives. So of course we have free will. The thing is not that God controls everything we do in life, he simply knows what will happen, but he has given us the chance to decide for ourselves, because what would be the point of living if we could not make our own decisions? So, yes we have free will.

Answer 2

My will controls my life, but my will also comes into conflict with everyone else's desires and actions, so it is not a boundless thing.

Everyone has the same ability to choose their path, and they do it every second of every day. If they choose to plod along and never accomplish much, then hey....that's their choice obviously.

That being the case, there are limits placed on what can be done within the restraints of time available and resouces at hand. You can't become a PhD in nuclear physics just by wanting to....you have to make an effort and grow into such a condition.

Free will isn't magic, but it can accomplish great things if you stick with it and believe that you can do what you wish for yourself. All actions have consequences, I just have to choose the right actions to get what I want from my life.

Answer 3

Free will, like consciousness, is an illusion - usually a post-facto justification for actions that are practically robotic in their predictability.

When we are presented with choices, we will pick the one that appears to be optimal for us at that time, based on our instantaneous criteria.

If the choices are similar enough so that no optimum can be judged, we'll mentally 'toss a coin' to decide.

The appearance of variation in choice between individuals result for the fact that each person's instantaneous criteria are different.

If the choices include an obvious optimal choice, but the person has been told, say, 'surprise me', that simply changes the criteria to include the need to be unusual.

There is no free will. It's mostly human hubris to imagine we have such conscious independence.

CD

Answer 4

Free will is mostly illusion - we are products of both our genetics and our circumstances. While we may go through the motions of making choices, our choices are often limited by genetics - for example, I cannot choose to be a pro basketball player because I don't have the physical requirements of speed, skill, height, or coordination - never did. OTOH, even those things I do think I choose are in reality a product of everything in my past; in a given set of circumstances, my mind has been programmed to react in certain ways, like reflexes.

None of this is meant to imply some kind of "divine plan" or anything of the sort - ironically, we are programmed by random combinations, not design.

Answer 5

We have no control over any of the "big" things, they all tend to be a consequence of the random event of where, when and to whom we are born. But I do believe most thinking people have a large degree of exercisable free will within the confines of the paths left open after that. If that weren't true, you would rarely meet twins who weren't doing the same job...

Answer 6

I think that we have some degree of free will, but most people choose not to use it. Most people are religious, which is allowing an organization of hate and intolerance to have control over your life. So, not only do you not have free will, but you are also ruled by a tyrannical force.

Whatever degree of free will is possible, I don't think that it's possible for free will and religion to exist together.

Answer 7

free will is the ability to chose between at least two concurrent time-paths. if there is nothing to chose free will still exists since it can be 'thought / imagined'.
Not always the most profitable time-path is chosen because although the ability is there, because people tend to be lazy and or conservative, it goes as it went is the motto.

Answer 8

People out of their free will commit sin. As such I don't know of anyone who has a problem attaining "free will". Do you?

Answer 9

It's more like we have control over our destiny. Our free will allows us to choose between doing something good and righteous or doing something wicked. That decision will save us or condemn us.

Answer 10

Good & bad things are around us. God has given choice to choose between good or bad .We have to controle our way of life. Example;-- If a bad habit is with you, you have to form a new habit.