Do We Have Free Will? Almost Certainly Not

You didn’t create yourself, or the things that make you what you are

Edward John
9 min readJul 20, 2021
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

We don’t have free will. For a start, it doesn’t make sense scientifically. But it also doesn’t match our own experiences. But before I explain why, I would first like to defend the opposing argument a little bit.

But before I even do that, perhaps we should first define what free will actually is.

According to Dictionary.com:

noun

1. free and independent choice; voluntary decision:
You took on the responsibility of your own free will.

2. Philosophy. the doctrine that the conduct of human beings expresses personal choice and is not simply determined by physical or divine forces.

But let’s go further and say that having free will means that we could have done otherwise for any action we have taken or choice we have made. It means we had the freedom to act differently than we did.

A few words in favor of free will

There are a couple of reasons why free will is a difficult belief to let go of.

Reason #1: we feel we have free will

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Edward John
Edward John

Written by Edward John

Sometimes my inside is full of sunshine 🌞 edwardjohnwritesATgmailDOTcom

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