Misconceptions of free will?

Question

what are some misconception on free will

Answer 1

I think the biggest misconception is that free will is an "either/or" thing, that you either have it or you don't. But it is possible to have varying amounts of free will.

For instance, if we lived in a deterministic universe--where any point in time could, at least in theory, be predicted from any other--people wouldn't have any free will because since the universe was without any randomness, no choices could be made and we'd essentially be automatons, our every action knowable in advance.

Quantum mechanics has demonstrated that true, genuine randomness does indeed exist in our universe, thus giving us the freedom necessary to make one decision or another. And yet, if we made every decision by flipping a coin, that wouldn't be free will either, since even though the decision could have more than one outcome, it isn't really us who are making the decision, just a random event.

In the real world when we make a decision, it is affected by many factors including rational thought, instinct, desires, biases, previous experiences, and consideration of later consequences/results. I would argue that if a decision were made based on any one of these factors, for example purely by instinct or purely by what logic might dictate, then there is not really any free will being exercised. Free will is found in the mixing and interplay of these different factors, which makes the decisions we make neither totally random nor totally predictable.

Answer 2

I don't know about misconceptions, but there are different ways of thinking about free will, and people often talk past each other because they are using different definitions of free will.

There is also a common lack of understanding of the implications of libertarian free will. People don't seem to understand that a first cause cannot be intentional, since intentions must cause the cause. If our choices are a result of a chain of causality then we have no power over them, since we did not choose earlier events in the chain. If our choices are uncaused then it is inexplicable why we would choose one action instead of another, and therefore our actions are random and therefore unintended.

This is probably one of the best videos countering free will that I've seen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR0Rgw0dA4k

Answer 3

a misconception is that people free will is only tied to religion when it should be tied to life. example take control of ur life dont blame others for your not doing anything. Do it u have the free will to do something u are not pre destined to be a slave to religion, people, yourself even.

Answer 4

It's not free. There is always a price to pay. Whether that price is a compromise of your beliefs, or a change in philosophy, it always has a price. Just like free speech.

Answer 5

You can make it if you try.

How many of us have really tried and failed?