Do you believe in causation, that everything has a cause? You must, something cannot happen for no reason... our thoughts and actions don't happen for no apparent reason or cause they must happen because they were caused to, we are not immune to natural causes or forces interacting. If you killed my family, that could cause me to kill you via an angry and vicious and vengeful state of mind, or i could choose not to but i would have to be caused not to... ie... i was christian and believed in forgiveness strongly, i could be CAUSED to re-concider my actions. If you want to say I'm talking crap, it could be because you don't understand, many people will. Free will is an illusion.. in my opinion.
2007-09-16 08:37:40 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Free will does not absolve the "willer" of consequences for their actions. Every action has a reaction....you don't have to pay your taxes, but the consequence is that you will get sought after by the government, and you WILL pay your taxes, and you WILL go to prison. You can shoot someone, but you will be tried for murder. You can drive erratically, but you WILL get a traffic ticket. You don't have to pay your rent, but the landlord WILL evict you. You don't have to pay your bills, but your creditors WILL sue you, and do everything else they can do to you. Your rights end where another person's rights begin.
2007-09-16 08:58:38 · answer #1 · answered by Hot Coco Puff 7 · 7⤊ 0⤋
Most actions are dictated by our beliefs, and you can't intentionally change what you believe. Free will however can be demonstrated in any situation where there is an equal choice. Do you prefer Coke or Pepsi? Advertisers would like to believe that you'll pick whichever one you have been exposed to in advertising the most. But I believe that choice will be made most often based on personal taste.
also free will can be seen in how much a person values certain concepts. Concepts like physical fitness, inteligence, organization, timeliness. Like personally I don't value organization as much as i value $10 and 20minutes, hence i have big piles of stuff on my floor instead of buying some organizational storage containers or shelves and cleaning it up all pretty. My mom on the other hand values organization and appearance a lot, she's bought (and made ME assemble) 6-7 big book shelves to put in a room noone uses and display books no one reads that were previously stored safely in cardboard boxes.
2007-09-16 09:00:04 · answer #2 · answered by jadespider9643 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Interesting question. I believe in both. Fate or causation sets the situation and you have no control over that. It puts you in the position of having to make a choice. That's the free will part of it. A creep kidnaps and murders a member of your family = Fate.
Do you kill him or let the legal system handle it? = Free Will
2007-09-16 08:55:42 · answer #3 · answered by Wascal Wabbit 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Free will - You think it's an illusion? Watch a 2, 3 or 4 year old child when they first learn the word no or can't. Watch in fascination free will at it's best. This is creating the person whose actions and reasons we question above.
2007-09-16 08:53:24 · answer #4 · answered by floridagirl1261 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe everything happens for a reason, but i think that free will still exists to an extent. It makes sense to do things for a particular reason, but you decide - therefore you have the free will to make that decision.
If i suddenly decided that absolutely everything had a cause and I never actually made any decisions, I would be making that decision on my own free will. But I choose (of my own free will) to believe that free will exists. I could go on and on, but I won't.
I choose not to. Of my own free will.
Ha.
2007-09-16 08:49:57 · answer #5 · answered by Flit 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Everything is caused....which means there's no beginning to the chain...which is pretty darn right because there's no reason to think the Universe began...it always existed since anything that caused the universe would also be part of the universe.
So!...yes, there's free will because there's no evidence there isn't. Just because everything is caused doesn't mean there's a causer.
Free will doesn't mean there's no causer...it only mean there's no evidence for one so you have to assume there isn't one until you have reason otherwise.
2007-09-16 08:42:19 · answer #6 · answered by stonerosedesigndotcom 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I hold a hybrid view on determinism versus fatalism. This may sound non-commital, however, there are certain events over which I have almost complete control through the application of my thoughts and actions and others over which there is no control.
In simple terms, if you were to think of reflexive actions versus non-reflexive (i.e. I didn't decide to sneeze or blink versus I did decide to have a glass of water), you may begin to see that there are degrees of free choice.
If you honestly believed that you were compelled to follow along a predetermined path, you could easily absolve yourself from any responsibility, however, this would be very depressing since it would imply that you could never improve any of your shortcomings or circumstances. I believe that through motive, determination, discipline, and practice, people can exert a degree of influence over their environments.
2007-09-16 08:54:21 · answer #7 · answered by benz300coupe 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Free will is only possible if truly random events are possible. A random event is one where no input or stimulus in the system is present and there's only one output.
This is a highly abstract question you've asked here, and one that's difficult in answering clearly. Read "The Collapse Of Chaos" by Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart (ISBN 0-14-029125-3). It's very insightful and may help you answer your question.
2007-09-16 08:53:56 · answer #8 · answered by Superdude 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did you choose to ask the question or were you forced into by fate? I believe in free will if you are strong enough to choose.
Fate and causation are the illusions imposed on us by ourselves.
2007-09-16 08:51:01 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The discussion about predestination and free will has been ongoing for long enough. My own opinion is that whilst we have the ability to choose and make our decisions in our lives, those choices have already been predestined and God already knows what choices we will make. Thus we have free will inside a circle of predestination which only God knows.
2007-09-17 04:47:41 · answer #10 · answered by Julie 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋