The problem of free will for atheists?

Question

Theists have an easy way of answering the problem of free will by saying they just "have it" because a god gave it to them.
How is free will explained scientifically to an atheist who also believes in free will?
From what i've gathered everything is part of a determistic system. Even human thought. However an illusion of free will is experienced due to the generation of infinite behaviour from the interaction of finite-deterministic set of rules and parameters. Thus the unpredictability of the emerging behaviour from deterministic processes leads to a perception of free will, even though free will as an ontological entity does not exist.
I've heard things such as quantam physics being nondeterministic but I don't see how this applies to human though and how the will is somehow "free" from the laws of physics.
How do you view free will given the above?
I admit I have very limited knowledge on the subject and will reevaluate my opinion if given a more convincing argument against it

Artistagent116
Ah yes i've come across that thought as well. However this is seemingly abstract and does this necessarily disprove that each of those parallel universes are part of a deterministic framework?
In each parallel universe was it inevitable that I came to the conclusion that I did?
It raises more interesting questions.

e fn w
I don't see how it would prohibit people to choose from alternatives, any decision is based on past experiences and reasoning combined with present knowledge, at a given moment only one answer can be chosen in a question and the conditions coerce the mind unknowingly choose what it does.
I can go for a walk or I can choose not to. I admit this, but whether I do or not is the result of a rationalization I make, I simply ask myself if I want to go on a walk or not, I COULD do either but I will inevitably do one, the one that I ended my rationalization with.
At any minute I can do what I want, but I dont decide what I want most.
If I choose to take a walk it is because I wanted to take a walk, If I don't want to take a walk, I won't. However, I do not decide the preconditioning of my desire or lack of desire to do either.

Answer 1

Whoa. Deep. Finally. A thought-provoking question.

How about considering the "multi-universe" theory which is prevalent with today's physicists. It's called "string theory". The concept is that each decision made or action produced causes the universe (in which the decision or action occurs) to split off into another universe where the consequences of the aforementioned decision or action exist. For instance, there could be a universe where Hitler's Nazi army won WWII, or another universe in which you married a different woman (or man), or a different universe where Neanderthals survived.

So, (if the theory is correct), we have the power to create universes. What does that do your thinking?

It really screws mine up. Hopefully someone smarter than we has the answer.

Added later:
I hear you, Clint. My mind boggle-eth.

Answer 2

In a deterministic system, i can accept your view that there are only finite numbers of decisions a person can make. Its the pre-deterministic religious beliefs that i have a problem with. We know from our practical, everyday experience of life and from our exposure to the laws of physics, that a certain effect is always the result of a previous cause.

However, i can't accept your view totally. The strict applicability of the cause/effect principle would prohibit humans to choose from alternatives. Determinism considers all events in the universe and in our life as unbreakable chains of prior causes. Human beings would not be able to insert new causes into a preexisting causal chain. Strict causality makes human beings mere puppets on a string, dancing to a melody composed at the beginning of time. Determinism is in conflict with our everyday experience of life.

Human beings, as well as animals and inanimate events have the ability to break the chains of strict causality postulated by Determinism. We are thus free to influence our affairs and our destiny. In changing our future from what it would have been without the interaction triggered by our free will, we are changing the very universe of which we are an integral part.

In addition to scientific considerations, common sense insists that Free Will exists. Who would deny that we have Free Will when we put one foot in front of the other and decide, of our own volition, of our own Free Will, to go for a walk or not go for a walk? It is clearly irrational to believe that a chain of causality at the time of the Big Bang determines if we go for a walk this afternoon, or not.

Answer 3

I guess I kind of agree that free will is an illusion because I believe that everything is physical and so determinism seems to be true. But since the causes that lead to our actions are soooooo unknown and unseen and all-around undetected by us, the illusion of free will is so convincing that, for all basic intents and purposes, you might as well consider us to have free will.

You mentioned quantum physics in there- I've heard something about how particles on a super-small level have been observed to behave without any apparent reasoning behind it, as if causation and logic don't exist. Obviously, I don't know enough about this to know what I'm really talking about but people have used this evidence to suggest that maybe everything isn't determined by cause and effect. But that's cutting edge stuff so the behavior of those particles might eventually be explained. I don't know.

Answer 4

That one just has so called "free will" within the constraints of societal
laws or does whatever one wants and pays the consequences.
I think it's pretty straight forward. The complications arise
when one assumes a diety actually gave it to us. Total
free will is contained in one's thoughts and until the mind
police are born, it will continue to be this way...if you want
to get picky about it you could say that even our thoughts
are generated by prejudicial assumptions and this could
go on ad infinitum until we get sucked into a black hole
and our atoms are strung out permanently into the
stratosphere, still looking for the answer to your question.

Answer 5

as long as there is no one else in your head making your decisions, you have free will