The idea of free will has been swirling around in my mind since class on Monday; although, the idea of whether humans possess the ability to decide is something that has been plaguing the minds of those who care to entertain the thought for centuries. What makes me cringe is the conception that maybe every single choice, every conscious decision I have made (or at least thought I made) was done by the hand of someone else. All of my mistakes, my errors, my wrongdoings, all of the times that I hurt another soul, could have been choices made by someone other than myself. In contrast, all of the times I made someone smile, made someone laugh, did a good deed, etc. could have been at the hands of a greater power.
Free will is something that everyone would like to think that they acquire– at least I know that is the case for me. In order for me to further understand this concept, I did some research:
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states that Free Will is “a philosophical term of art for a particular sort of capacity of rational agents to choose a course of action from among various alternatives.”
I am going to be completely honest: when I read this, I had no earthly idea what this was trying to say. An article that better explains the topic can be found here. After looking further into things, free will basically comes down to the idea of “moral responsibility.” If you act with free will, you are being responsible for your actions. Also, it plays a hug part in your moral significance. As humans, we desire to do good (or do bad) and that desire pushes us to want to be recognized for the works we have done. If we exhibit free will, the acknowledgements we receive are for us; we earned them. Otherwise, another being deserves the credit. If free will is real, which I believe it is, it is up to us to decide right from wrong. It is also up to us to choose if we think free will is true and valid.
I am choosing to say yes.
I never thought of free will as a philosophical action, I just thought it was a normal action. What I think is most interesting is that decisions made out of free will are the only actions one can be praised or condemned. It makes sense. Any forced action is not an action that can be taken credit for. This means that as a child when children are 'forced' to do the right thing by their parents they shouldn't actually get the credit for the actions because their parents made them do it.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your perspective eon free will. I actually scares me a little to think that everything that we have done and will do is just an effect of nature taking it's course. It is very strange because even as I am writing this comment and thinking of the things to put in it, theres a very good chance that free will isn't whats making me do it, but rather just the reaction of the world. I would also like to say that I have free will too, but some part of me can believe otherwise.
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