Philosophical Question:Are we ever really absolutely free? Or is everything constrained or even predetermined?

Question

Are we ever really absolutely free? Or is everything constrained or even predetermined?

Answer 1

Freedom is constrained by nature. A five foot two is not going to play NBA ball. If your i.q. is 95, what you can learn and use has some limitations. You are free, within the restrictions of nature, but free none the less.

Answer 2

Gandhi said "slavery and freedom are mental states."

If you agree that liberty is a freedom of the mind, then yes, but if your the type of person who has a hard time separating the physical and cerebral than no. Your body will never be free and you will be constrained by everything predetermined, such as, physics, nature, humanity,etc.

And everything is predetermined, in a scientific sense, considering that we are only experiencing time as it is revealed to us(in a forward arrow, past to future) when in truth all that is or ever will be exists at once. Is that a logical fate? Can you change it, what right this second is already manifested, but escapes your human comprehension?

Sure, why not, I think existence is about personal perception, so if you let go of the preconceived notions of how it is (even that which is plainly in your face), or should be, than you can just live and be free. It's your world, your universe to mold how you chose. Facts are still facts (human consensus), but facts are not truths.

You could make your own truths, everything is subjective, nothing is truly unbiased or objective so.... Maybe I'm selling delusions, maybe I've been doing too much yoga, maybe I didn't even really answer your question, but I wrote it so I'm not backspacing now.

Answer 3

You either believe in free will or you don't. That's all there is to it.

If you believe in free will then you can be held accountable for your actions.

If you don't believe in free will, you have not moral responsibility for your actions.

So, you have to decide for your self where you fall in the free will dichotomy.

Here are some thoughts.
First, there are certainly powerful forces trying to control you. Parents, family and friends have expectations of how you behave. It is easy to conform to those expectations even if you do not really want to conform. Example: your family and friends all expect you to go to college. You want to form a rock band. You have been accepted by a good school and your band has a limited local following. What do you do? Is your choice "free" or constrained.

Second, there are societal forces at work. Do you pay taxes? Because you want to or because you don't want to go to jail? Is there a difference? Is it your free choice to pay the IRS rather than go to jail, or simply coercion by the federal government. Do you speed; drive under the influence; text while driving. Are you free to that as long as you are willing to pay the price? Oops, price does that make it not something you are free to do

Third, I would argue that there are some who, while free, are not capable of understanding their actions and the impact on others. While this may argue against their moral responsibility, that does not mean they should be free to do whatever they want. Which is why there are laws to protect society from them while not holding them criminally responsible.

If everything is constrained or predetermined, we could predict the future behavior of anything: man, woman, girl, boy, cats, dogs, hurricanes, the weather in general, politics, the stock markets, and so on. Heisenberg, Godel and the "butterfly effect" argue against this. And, strongly so. Although, the "butterfly effect" does leave some room for the notion that if we just had perfect knowledge, we could predict.

Answer 4

This is ofcourse a question which cannot be answered in brevity, so the short answer is yes we can be free, absolutely. Read Ayn Rand, and do not confuse: the ability to do something, with the freedom to do it. Many who argue the point of either constraint or predetermination will try to obfusgate the two.

Answer 5

It is a strange, ineffable amalgamation of both.

No, in terms of being 'absolutely free', we aren't. If taking that literally, there is no way to be totally free.

There are certain predetermined factors that give us proclivities. We act according to a certain range of elements external to our locus of control.

We ultimately have to be held accountable by our actions at the end of time, so we do have free will. We have the freedom to act within certain boundaries- we cannot just do anything and avoid the consequences. The laws of nature cannot be broken. The laws of man and God can be broken, but there are penalties.

Again- we are free, but really, the freedom that we think we have is a great illusion.

Answer 6

No one in the USA has Ever been Absolutely Free------ EVER! That is why there are Laws, Rules, etc........ Every Time a New Law is Passed, someone Looses a Part of their Freedom. To the Best of my Knowledge, the only way that anyone can experience Absolute Freedom is to be Dead.

Answer 7

Now that the governments are passing all those stupid smoking laws I am beginning to wonder if the next one will be how many times a day we can do #2.
I don't smoke, but if I don't want to be around it, I will just not go to those places that allow it. I think it should be up to the owner of the establishment, not the government.
They are taking away too many freedoms.

Answer 8

There are always constraints. The way you handle them, or get around them if you need to, is the thing of life.

Constraints and predetermination is often called "religion". With little reason for this, other than mass hysteria, stupidity or laziness of gaining ones' own life experiences.

Answer 9

Absolutely free? No, we are limited by society, other people, and nature (note how I did not say God).

Nothing is right; nothing is wrong - All is permitted.

Take this sentence with a grain of skepticism. Of course this sentence is clearly false, analyzed within a modern day context. I leave it there for you to decipher for yourself should you choose.

Fate has nothing to do with anything, it is a simplistic idea to give justification as to what has happened and is naive.

Answer 10

I don't believe that anything is predetermined; but I do believe that everything is constrained.