I spent 5 months refining my view of Free-Will while trying to receive as little professional influence as possible. This is mostly a result of 3hr hash sessions and A/P classes. Here it is:
BRIEF BACKGROUND
Everything stems from human nature and how the first humans reacted with the environment that is Earth (i.e., conditioning).
Humans are rational beings → Rational beings base decisions off reasoning → Reasoning comes from what you know → What you know comes from what you were taught (conditioning) and Instinct (human nature).
[Everything we do is purposeful. Every action carries reasoning behind it. Every effect is preceded by a cause.]
WHATS THIS MEAN?
You have no freedom of choice. You do not choose what you are attracted to – be that people, places, ideas or beliefs. Ex) You cannot just pick up a piece of white paper and truly believe it is black. Your reasoning skills (no control over these) will not allow you to. In the same essence, you cannot just choose to believe in Jesus Christ as your personal savior. The casual chain reaction must already be set in motion, and if it is (the correct prior conditioning and brain chemistry for this belief to occur), then you will. Your consciousness may make it seem like you are deciding on the fly what to do, but it is really your unconscious which decides for you.
A common debate I hear is one can choose their conditioning. This is false, since it is your prior conditioning + brain that have chosen your current situation, and it is even more earlier programming that has chosen that. This goes all the way back to when you were born. When all you had was instinct and how that instinct interacted with your first environment.
Another debate is how can humans change? How can a drug user decide to quit smoking and rehabilitate their life? This is simple. Humans are 100% self-absorbed creatures. We do whatever brings us happiness. Ex) A drug user has 2 desires. A desire to keep using and a desire to clean up (Let me point out, we do not choose our desires. They choose us). Like all humans, the drug user will choose the desire which is highest. Many factors and variables are included in this – but the bottom line is the same – Humans will choose the desire which derives them the most pleasure. So when a drug user quits, it is really no miracle. Its human nature.
EARLIER OBJECTION
It was once stated there was error in nature because scientists couldnâ??t predict the movement of the simplest particles of matter (electrons). I agreed with this, but now see the error lies within us. Within our thinking. We are set up to believe in beginnings. Ex) Compounds are made of elements, elements are made of atoms, atoms are made of quarks, quarks are made of ?, so on and so on. This will run onto to infinity. Our brains cannot fathom a beginning without a beginning, which eventually must happen. This same line of reasoning is used when we look up to the skies – “Who created us?” “God did.” “Who created God?” “Ummmm… Himself?” Eventually, we get our minds blown and it transcends our brains ability to comprehend.
One day, I do think we will have the technology to predict the movement of an electron as well as the science to discover smaller and smaller particles, but we will never get to the smallest thing. Jack Kerouac sums it up best: “That last thing is what you cant get. Nobody can get to that last thing. We keep on living in hopes of catching it once for all.”
TRUE FREE WILL
My idea of free will is of actions that are built on no reasoning whatsoever.
Heres my example:
-A person is not hungry. They drive to the farthest grocery store, even though they have one right next door. They buy the most expensive items that they absolutely despise. They get outside and decide to walk home. They get home, go down to the basement and eat the food in the closet. They eat all the food.
The person I used in this example is a normal person with no mental problems. All of their actions lacked any cause behind them. They derived no happiness whatsoever from them.
This type of decision making is absurd. This is free will. It does not exist except for in our minds.
HOW DOES THIS CHANGE MY LIFE?
You cannot separate actions and beliefs. They are one. Beliefs are fuel, while your actions are the car.
By adopting a belief system that sees every event as something that must happen, much pain and suffering can be avoided. Regret. Guilt. Anger. Jealousy. all gone…
By adopting a belief system that realizes that one is acting exactly as they should and the only way they know how, then we are able to transcend boundaries. We are able to realize no one is more superior or inferior than another. We are able to see why someone is Muslim while another is Christian, while still be accepting. We are able to see past institutions like religion because we begin to realize why you believe something is not a valid reason to spend eternal damnation in hell.
Please criticize, but realize, whether you agree with this or not is really not up to.