Does free will exist?

[Bear632]

I was contemplating this question, and I wrote down the following. This is the answer to whether or not free will is real. I'd like additional input from others, especially if you disagree or would like to add a caveat or change something.

 

Defn:

the ability of individuals to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention.

 

The question is bad, because:

It assumes that the answer will be the same for everyone. It is not.

It assumes that a person's degree of free will is fixed. It is not.

It assumes that the answer is binary: free will or determinism. It is a spectrum.

 

An individual has some fixed parameters on their free will (physics - they cannot flap their arms and begin to fly, age - a 90 y.o. has less energy/cognitive power than a 20 y.o., past - what has happened has happened and that shaped you to who you are now to a large extent).

But there are many variables through which a person can increase their degree of free will. The "entry points" which enable someone to begin building their free will "muscle" are 1) Belief that they can & 2) Beyond a low/moderate threshold of self-awareness and maybe consciousness too

With those two entry points as a foundation, a person can build up their free will muscle by addressing all the other controllable variables that contribute to free will. 

Crystal intelligence - learning more will lead to greater awareness and better decisions

Brain chemistry - taking vitamins, herbs, nootropics can modify brain chemistry temporarily for preferred brain chemistry (especially applicable to people with mental disorders)

Nutrition - eating healthy will enhance brain f(x), increasing self awareness, which will continue to increase free will

These aren't simply ways to feel better, but actually increase one's own level of free will.

 

Factors that contribute to a person's degree of free will:

CONTROLLABLE

Level of consciousness

Level of self awareness

Crystal Intelligence

Brain chemistry & neurology

Nutrition & brain f(x)

Personality traits

Financial status

One's own morality, ideology/religious programming

Emotional state

Personal beliefs about self, others, and world

Cognitive effort

 

 

NOT CONTROLLABLE

Fluid intelligence

Genetics

Biological Age 

Psychological developmental stage

Economic conditions (on local to global scale)

Historical context (21st century)

Sociopolitical context (on local to global scale)

Past experiences

Early family life & parenting styles of Mom/Dad

Sociocultural norms & expectations (cultural programming)

Laws & regulations

Randomness & chance

 

Tell me if I'm missing something. What questions would you ask to better understand free will?

 

[ryoko]

1. It's easy to make choices and plans which seem to have little external influence.. But if you start execution of those plans, you realise how much grip the external factors have on you.

2. You make choices within a predetermined context. You mentioned Financial Status. But don't get to choose whether money should even exist in the world or not. Most of the times, you have very little control over the context. And most people take the context for granted, and give little thought to altering it completely. For example, "A world without money". 

3. The illusion of free will. Let's say you decide to make a lot of money, or let's say you decided to live in the woods. Look at the context again. The context is forcing you to make one choice or the other. Of course, there's a myriad of choices. But all of it, is simply some form of slavery. 

4. Everything you do is pointless. Meaning is made up. Religion is made up. Wanting to live as "such and such" a human being is utterly pointless. Everyone is EQUAL, ONE..

5. The illusion of having no control. You are god, you created everything. Everything you can possibly experience and imagine, is all your own creation. Even space time and other human beings. You are lost in your own creation. How does that make you feel?