Free Will or Determinism?

No Free Will

There is no scientific evidence for free will. There is no way it could get established or operate. There is only the introspective feeling and social perception of free will as evolved by natural selection. This leaves us as determined beings in a determined universe.

We can discuss and research and philosophise, but that too is determined. Everything was, and is, and will be determined. Including your doubts.

There’s no use thinking  “I won’t bother searching because it’s all determined anyway.” That thought is also determined if you have it. There’s nothing you can do, except everything you do do. There are no exceptions. 

You might struggle against determinism, or go with the flow, or ignore the idea. Determinism will decide.

Particles don’t have Free Will

Free Will is a debated topic. But why bother with the free will debate when far more fundamental processes give more fundamental answers?

Why not debate determinism at the level of physics, at the level of particles? 

If the laws of physics in combination with the constituents of the universe are determined - then determinism rules. All past, present and future physical interactions and events are determined.

Having established this fact, the workings of the cosmos, of life, and of human beings, are bound by determinism. There is nothing free to will things or to do things or choose things.

There is the overwhelming illusion of free will and choice having evolved in the human mind, but this has also evolved by deterministic processes.

Thinking Itself

The biggest problem for the determinists’ way of thinking is that thinking itself is determined. All the thoughts about determinism itself are determined.

All the thoughts about what brand of determinism is best are determined.

All the thoughts about what effects on the world determinism as a belief will have, are determined.

Of course, that the outside world is determined is easy for the determinist to consider and ponder and decide about. But the honest determinist must begin (and end), with his or her own thoughts. In fact with the very first thought.

Every thought, statement and conclusion should be prefaced by the label:  “ the following thought (statement or conclusion), is determined and now I will say it, or think it”.

If the determinist doesn’t do this and just rattles on as if he made up things out of thin air - that is also exactly what is determined.

Don't go without, go within.

What Will it be Like?

It’s not that “what will the world be like if people realize they have no free will?” - so don’t spread the bad news.

It’s that there is already no free will in the world, right now! And so this world is operating perfectly as it is under the truth of no free will.

All realizations that there is no free will are determined. All  insistence that there is or is not a determined world is determined. All arguments for or against determinism are determined.

Free will has no part in philosophical thinking, because there is no free will. To promote the deterministic stance is determined, as is to oppose it.

Each thought arising and each word spoken, are determined. Every muscle, every neuron and every molecule are determined by the laws of nature. The movement of the atoms in the atmosphere is determined.

An Illusion of an Illusion

There are some things that think they think, yet this has to be an illusion. Apparent consciousness exists, and we know what it feels like. But it is a feeling, like hot or cold. A feeling that evolved by nonconscious evolution.

The feeling of self aware consciousness did evolve as a tool because it improved survival and reproduction. But real consciousness with free thinking and truly autonomous decision making, didn’t.

Only the feeling of self created thought, independent of the material world developed. In actual fact, each thought is an electro chemical process in the brain, and so is the awareness of those thoughts as a subjective self.

It’s as if something asleep, dreams it’s awake. Or something dead thinks it’s alive. We do exist, but only in the strangest way.

Top Determinists

Look at the “top” Determinist scientists or philosophers. When they give an opinion or judgement about something, look closely and they seem to be overpowered by the same sense of self and free will as everybody else. They don’t become one with the beliefs they profess. They act as if they have free will and choice. At any time, if they looked inward, they would remember and see they are determined and act accordingly. Whatever that is.

I’m no better, because all these thoughts I’m writing down are equally determined. None of us can do any better because the whole thing is determined.

It’s Operating Now!

There’s determinism in the universe (cause and effect), to govern all physical particle behaviour. That determinism covers everything!

Mostly however, determinism is discussed as “no free will” for humans as all behaviour arises from previous events and causes.

Determinism is not usually seen as fully in operation before you have your next thought or open your mouth.  It’s usually seen as a scientific or philosophical stance that has consequences worth pondering.

But it is here, operating, right now!

Impersonal Matter

It’s an amazing fact that evolution/natural selection also involves no free will and is determined as much as all other movements of physical matter. Only the movement of matter happens, at all. The movement of matte is all that is.

 If matter comes together in a way that forms bodies and minds, that is also the result of determined movements.

With all matter, not only is there no free will, but also no free movement. It is all determined by past events, or by the last event or the previous moment. 

Quantum uncertainty has no effect at the scale of molecules and larger, and quantum randomness is unplanned, unguided, and unpredictable. It is not the result of anything and cannot be used to create free will.

There is obviously no purpose, planning or goal in the universe which includes galaxies, quarks, ants, humans and minds. These words are read and written by matter only.

All thoughts and actions are done by matter only. Personal introspection is done by impersonal matter only, including the thought: “I am thinking this”.

Facts and Ideas

It seems plausible that life, bodies and brains could evolve by natural selection without planning or guidance.

It’s more difficult to see how consciousness, or especially subjective consciousness or awareness could have evolved. But it obviously did, purely as an adaptation.

The difficult thing for me to understand (although I believe it can be understood), is how information and knowledge can be communicated so intricately between life forms, especially humans.

Communication of facts and ideas via language must have evolved by natural selection. So at the deepest level, and hence all levels,  it must be automatic and determined and the result of the system evolved. Not the result of what a particular person chooses to say or think or do.

There can be no point at which the laws of the physical universe cease, and human consciousness takes on the ability to cause things to happen in the world.

 Free Will

There is will, but not free will. We can use the term free will, but it really means will only. It's the brain function of working out what to do and carrying that out. There is nothing free about it because it's the result of the past, like everything else. But it works differently in each person producing different choices. Choices being the actual actions going forward. And the process of thought involved in decision-making does seem free. It seems like my will is weighing up and choosing what to do. But this is how the programming in the brain works, using a sort of central command identity to be involved in the process. 

The feeling of freedom is a conscious component of the human decision-making process which is totally determined by physical laws. Random subatomic events do not change things. Random events are random and not caused by or used by the brain to create free will. They come in from left field with no plan whatsoever. We are the result of things not the cause of things. We are the result of the past. Particles formed atoms, formed molecules, formed DNA, formed plants and animals, formed nervous systems, formed brains, formed consciousness, formed subjective consciousness, formed thinking, planning and Will. None of it was under the control of anything but the laws of matter. Matter bounced around according to physical law until it came up with you and me. If you started out with the same universe and the same random quantum events you end up with exactly the same present, atom for atom. This means the universe is totally determined. So, does it also mean that my judgement of someone's determined action is wrong? No, because that judging thought is part of what is determined. So is the thought "but my thoughts feel freely chosen",  or the thought: "I must be more understanding in a determined universe". Every movement of every particle is determined, even the random events because once a random event occurs, its effects are completely determined. It joins the chain of events determined by physical law. The universe is totally determined by the laws of physics plus quantum random events. If those two causes are repeated particle for particle atom for atom you end up with exactly the same universe as at present.

The Sudden Shock

It’s a sudden shock to realize that every cause is bottom up. There is n o top down causation. Your brain, your mind, your plans are caused by previous physical events and have no way of causing the future or the present.

The present is your mind caused by the past, and the future is a new present caused by the new past.

To suddenly realise this is to realise that whatever you are doing, it is happening by itself with no input from you.  The overwhelming feeling that I am doing things and causing things is also caused by the past and happening by itself.

I am not trapped in this illusion, but I am flowing in this illusion. The illusion of free will and agency in the world is the beauty and the miracle of living. That is, if you are lucky in the reality where you find yourself.

Living a Lie

You could say that humans are not the autonomous agents of free will that they think they are. But instead they are the subjective experience built into biological robots that evolved in a deterministic universe.

So how do you incorporate that fact when the illusion of free will is so powerful and obviously evolved by natural selection as an adaptation to further survival and reproduction.

How do you not live a lie that has been programmed into you?

Thinking about it is a start, and believing that you are living a lie is also a useful development.

But can we find a stance that allows us to see how we are living, actually?

Bigger than Chocolate

Forget about choice and free will being about chocolate or vanilla. Forget about individual decisions or even galactic events.

It’s about determinism.

If particles behave according to physical rules, and the universe today is the result of the universe yesterday, and if the universe was rewound to a previous time and replayed, it would end up in exactly the same state.

With that sort of determinism (the only type), you don’t even need to discuss human decisions or free will.

Human beings, human life and society are determined occurrences in the universe. On a par with heat or cold or the moon orbiting the Earth. The whole thing is particles in motion, according to physical laws. Anything that happens is part of the determined physical process, because that’s all there is.

You can feel you are free to choose and decide, and to say one thing or another, but that is all determined too. Stating your beliefs and hearing a response is a very complicated event for particles to come up with. But that’s what it is’

We feel what we are determined to feel, which is not that we are determined, but that we are free to influence the world. That is the truth of it. And that’s the wonder of it.

So what are you going to think about that? Wait and see!

What Can We Do?

Given the 100% total lack of room for free will - which means lack of freedom of action - which means no freedom to think a thought or move your arm. Given the total inability to do those things at will, what can we do?

Only what is  already occurring. We can’t do anything except what we are doing.

Totally forgetting the above truth, and carrying on as if we are in control of ourselves, is also “done for us” without any “will” being involved. There’s plenty happening by itself.

Please Say it’s True!

Everyone loves and wants free will. Please say it’s true! This is how we are programmed as humans.

We have a self, and we love living our self. It’s exciting, even if the self is illusory. What would life be like as a dumb automatic robot?

We may know the answer after all.

This is it!

We may be or are robots with a subjective-self wetware program that brings us alive. We are robots that believe we are something more. We are truly convinced we are alive.

Even discussing how robotic we are, that discussion is carried out in the “alive” mode, with free will thinking and decision making, all on the hop.

Free Will

There are arguments for or against free will- scientific, psychological and moral.

People don’t openly accept the lack of free will because society is based on responsibility, reward, punishment and blame or praise. Without this belief system (they say), society would deteriorate. So there are scientists and philosophers who argue one way or the other.

The point is though:  If there is no such thing as free will, it is already the case that the world of blame and responsibility already exists without there being free will.

People are already punished or praised for things they didn’t will or do intentionally. There isn’t a choice that we have free will or not. There is free will, or there isn’t.

If there is (the magical dualistic approach), then there is. If there isn’t (the logical scientific approach), then it is already the case that the world of blame and responsibility (this world), already exists without there being free will. That is - the illusion of free will overwhelms us in a deterministic world.

Do Atoms have Free Will? 

We don’t make choices, but choices are made within us. But really, nothing decides, it’s just that certain paths are followed for certain physical reasons.

It’s not so much whether a human has free will, but whether atoms have free will. 

If the fundamental particles we are made of can’t do anything other than they do, then neither can we. If the future of our parts is determined, then so are we.