Do we have free will?

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But our neural network (+hormones) are basically a big computer that follows a program. I would not say a computer has free will when they run a program. That is why there are things such as addiction, because we are run by chemicals sending signals. We cannot even choose when we want to sleep or wake because we have a set melatonin cycle. We are like The Doctor hologram from Star Trek. He has learned new skills, has formed his own opinions, but in the end he is still just a program.
If someone has low or high levels of certain hormones/proteines their behavior changes (serotonin and such).

PUT ME BACK IN!! !! !

No one forced you to make this topic; it was a choice born from your own will. Free will is obvious; those who deny it use their own will in the process. Point made; no further debate needed.

Free will discussion is a strange bird.
So much of any discussion depends on definitions that it's hard to find consensus.

But I define, what I call "my free will" thusly:

When I "make a decision" I am using my intellect to combine what I've been taught, by parents, peers, teachers, with what I've learned through my choice of books, friends, etc.
So in my case (for example) I was taught racial acceptance and subsequently learned what I could of the subject (knowing this was "right" living) and I DO NOT DISPUTE my choices of what to read and learn were chosen on the basis of what I'd been taught/learned previously.

It's usually pretty automatic. But it's not as though you can't steer your life in a different direction ONCE YOU REALIZE YOU HAVE THE POWER TO DO SO. It's what helps people break free of the disabling bonds cast by loving family and friends once they've learned and taught themselves there are better ways.

Will there always be "influences" from previous "learnings"? YES
Do you need to allow previous "learnings" control your life? NO

Once you realize you have control over your own life you can continue to use your intellect to pursue answers and further modify what you've been taught. Without motivation though there may be no reason to feel change is necessary; in this case the sins of the child remain the same as the sins of the father/mother and one might say this person's life is pre-ordained.

denny

Not having free will does not mean that someone does something because someone else forces them to do so; it means that the choices someone makes are dependent on external stimuli. If free will does not exist, then that means someone makes a topic if they, for instance, hear or see something that gives them the idea to make the topic.

Also, just because something is obvious doesn't mean it is true. For example, it may seem obvious to us that objects are solid because we touch them instead of going through them. However, as it turns out, objects are not actually solid; it just seems that way because when our electrons get close to the electrons of an object, the electrons repel each other.

Neuroscientists have found that while there is no such thing as free will, there is free won't. That means while we do not have the ability to do something independent of external stimuli, we have the ability to choose not to do something independent of external stimuli.

If it is obvious to someone that they have free will, then they are using free won't if they are denying that they have free will. However, if it is obvious to someone they don't have free will, like it is the case for me, then if they use their free won't, they would conclude that they have free will.

This proves nothing, my friend. Free will is the ability to make decisions free of any constraints. The trouble with your assertion is that there is ample evidence that physical constraints do indeed exist inside of the human brain when it comes to thoughts and choices.

Google "bereitschaftspotential" and look at the wikipedia entry(since I'm a new member I can't link for the time being ).

Just so I understand everyone correctly:

Some people say they experience and display free will throughout their existence. They make conscious choices depending on their personal moral and intellectual values which may or may not be the same as taught by family, friends, church, and etc.

Others, however, look at their decisions and decide, despite all personal reasoning and study, that they still see the effects of previous training/experiences with family, friends, church, and etc. affecting their life choices.

I believe the people in the first group consider early training, religion and experience as a "given" and part of the question/problem/life solving process we call life, and as part of them, include these lessons in their life.

And I believe the people in the second group reject early learning as a "given" and instead pick it apart to see all of the early influences it had in directing their thoughts, education and beliefs and use this learning to direct how they live their later life.

I'm in the second group, although not knowing the consequences, I'd have chosen the first group as more comfortable (although, perhaps, not as comforting in the long run).

denny

Is "free will" being defined as action, or thought. We are free to believe what we want unless we have been conditioned or brainwashed at a young age. There is free will to do or say what we want but there may be undesired consequences. The only consequences for thought would seem to derive from conscience.

I believe we have absolute free will.

the world is so simple to you, isn't it?

fascinating

The main reason I do not feel like I have free will is because I can attribute any decision I make to something external, whether directly or indirectly.

I believe that no matter what, what you have been exposed to will affect you in some way. That is especially true for influences that you are exposed to when young.

While I use early learning to guide my decisions, I also use later learning because I'm a life-long learner. Because other people's beliefs differ from my early learnings and how I experience the world, I can get suspicious when I deal with people with conventional beliefs, as I get afraid that they will force their beliefs on me and corrupt my learning.