Is there really such a thing as free will?

Is there really such a thing as free will?

Introduction

The question “Do humans really possess free will?” seems to be ubiquitous and has been debated through many centuries. The theory of “Free will” iterates that human beings are possessed with the ability to make genuinely unforced choices that are outside the bounds and influence of certain constraints (Kane, 2002). The reality of free will has been as much a subject of debate as its precise nature and definition. Moreover, this unique concept has scientific, ethical and religious implications. For instance, science uses various neuro-scientific findings on free will to predict human behavior. From the point of view of ethics, free will holds implications for whether human beings can be held morally accountable for their actions (Pereboom, 2009). Similarly, in the realm of theology, free will indicates that the will and choices of individuals can coexist with an omnipotent entity.

Discussion

For more than two millennia, philosophers and scholars have locked in countless debates on the existence of free will, and a majority of them have supported the belief that free will is closely linked to the concept of moral responsibility. Hence, these philosophers and scholars propagate that humans act with free will primarily to satisfy metaphysical requirements on being accountable for their actions (Kane, 2002). Philosophers who draw a line between freedom of will and freedom of action advocate that success of human beings in carrying out a chosen task is heavily tilted on wide array of factors that are absolutely beyond the control of human beings. Moreover, external constraints on the range of available options that can be meaningfully undertaken are omnipresent in a majority of cases.

Since the existence or absence of certain constraints and conditions is not the responsibility of human beings, it is conceivable that the central loci of the responsibility of humans are their choices or, more aptly, “will” (Pink, 2004). However, not all scholars and philosophers have found substance in this theory. René Descartes, for instance, links the human power of will with their freedom to make choices and the ability to do or not do something. In fact, he even declares that human will, by its very nature, is so free that it is not possible to constrain it. Nevertheless, a majority of philosophers believe that all human beings have a natural tendency to conjure up willings that are very far from being free (Dilham, 1999).

There is no contention to the fact that a major part of the debate regarding the term “free will” has actually centered around whether human beings possess it. And still, there is little doubt that humans will to do certain things and act in a certain desired manner. The primary perceived factors that threaten the human faculty of freedom of will are the list of determinisms. These determinisms can be psychological, theological, biological, physical and causal. For each category of determinism, there is a group of scholars who deny its existence, mainly due to their ...