Free Will

Let me free!

I don't believe in free will. But that doesn't really mean anything unless we define what "free will" actually means.

When people talk about free will, they are usually referring to our ability to control our own actions. For example, right now I could stand up from my desk and start doing jumping jacks. Or, I could keep writing this post. Or, I could write about donkeys instead of free will. This ability to choose our actions is the kind of free will that I'm talking about.

If I had to guess, I would say that most people believe we do have free will. That's because it really feels like we have free will. Every moment of our lives basically consists of thinking and then deciding what to do. I just drank some water, but I could've had tea instead. This morning I had tea and I could've chosen to have water.

Free will just feels...obvious. But there's one pesky idea in particular that can get in it's way.

Determinism

Determinism is the idea that there is only one way for the future to pan out. Basically, since the universe is in a certain state right now, meaning all the particles that make up everything are in certain locations going certain speeds with certain charges etc..etc.., there is only one way for the next state of the universe turn out. In other words, the future is theoretically predictable, given that you have all the information.

This is actually a reasonable claim given that we know that the universe is made of particles and those particles are controlled by a set of unwavering laws that describe how they interact.

Imagine a ball is rolling across the ground. If you were to measure its speed and record its current location, you would be able to calculate where it will be one second from now. The ball's path is determined. And it is determined whether or not you are even watching. Even if you can't measure its speed because you don't have the tools you need, the ball is still going to end up in a specific spot one second in the future.

Given that we know the universe is made up of matter that is governed by the laws of physics just like the ball is, it's reasonable to say that the future of the universe can be determined even if we aren't able to measure or determine that future ourselves. Physics basically points to the fact that the universe can be determined. In other words, the universe is deterministic. And as a part of the universe, it would follow that our own "states" (where we are, who we are, and what we are doing) are also deterministic.

If you believe in determinism, it seems to naturally follow that you start to doubt free will. Because if you're just a bunch of atoms, and the path of those atoms through time is already determined, then are you really able to make a choice for yourself? If I have tea tomorrow morning, will that be because I freely choose to do so, or will it be because the atoms that make up "me" are simply having a chain reaction starting at the beginning of time and continuing all the way up to when my hand picks up the tea kettle?

Why do anything?

So no, I don't believe in free will in the sense that we are truly making decisions independent of the physical unfolding of the universe and in doing so changing how it unfolds.

But we are still making decisions. We use our senses and decide what to do given what is happening around us. We have brains that process information and choose what to do about it. Yes that information and the makeup of our brains are out of our control, but we still get to do the act of making the decisions. We are decision makers. Reasoners. That's all we are, and I'm okay with that.

A plant bends towards sunlight. Humans make friends, form societies, make art, and invent things. Both have lives worth living, even if neither is in control of why they do what they do.

Rebuttals

Below are some ideas that challenge the view I have layed out.

But what if: Randomness

Wait a second, what if the laws of the universe have some kind of random element?

Research into quantum physics is suggesting that this might actually be the case. So maybe the universe isn't deterministic. But if the universe is based on random chance, that still doesn't give us any more freedom. It just means that rather than my choices all being predictable, they are all completely random.

In a universe with an element of randomness, I'm a bunch of particles randomly interacting. That's still not me choosing anything.

But what if: We aren't just a bunch of particles?

What if there's something else inside us? What if we are more than just a bunch of physical particles? Some kind of mystical other substance that makes us who we are and gives us the freedom to choose? (This idea is called dualism by the way).

To keep this unspecific to one particular religion, we can basically call this a soul. It's possible that we have a soul of some kind that operates outside the laws of the physical universe and that this soul makes our choices real and free. But I just haven't come across any reason to really believe that. The concept of a soul is just an arbitrary solution. It's basically asking "what allows us to have free will" and answering it with "there's a magical unmeasurable something that gives us free will". It feels a little like a non-answer.