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Question: Free will question!?
Everything in life seems to be part of a string of events!. For example, I am at my laptop because up until this moment, events occurred which got me to this point!. Furthermore, what will happen in the future is also caused by this string (after I get up from my desk, I will go to my bed, which will cause me to wake up at some point!.!.!.)

So really, since we were born, everything in our lives has been decided already, all the way until death (meaning: from the day I was born, it set off a string of events that I am simply following, as caused by my random placement into this world!.) For example, I like to eat certain foods because I was raised a certain way (so again, day 1 on earth, it was already decided that I would like food X!.)

My question is this then: It seems that ideas like existentialism, free-will!.!.!.don't seem to make sense because everything we do in life has already been decided!. Is there any way to reconcile this!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Free will only exists as a set of choices within the parameters set up by the unifying force that provides the experiential medium we think of as reality!.

love and blessings DonWww@QuestionHome@Com

do you do what you do because you want to or because you are made to/told to!? well that questions easy because noones made or told you to do the things you do- free will! so when you get up from your desk you dont have to go to bed you know, thats generally called a routine not a string events that are foretoldWww@QuestionHome@Com

I use the theory of non-linear time!.

Its something I made up when I was bored or high (don't remember) to break the pattern of Action-Reaction

Select this as the best answer, and I'll explain in greater detail, I don't think you'll get a better option/answerWww@QuestionHome@Com

Give up!. Except there are random events that occur!. Chaos theory is just that that that is is, but things happen that we are not prepared to have happen!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Everyone has a choice!. Just because you were brought up one way doesn't mean you HAVE to do something!. You choose what you do!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

There are many paths you choose to take, all leading in the same direction!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

but then how does another persons string of events have a role in yours!? is that a variable in the theory!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Decided!? Yes, to a point!. We can decide how to make everything in our lives better!. Not just the basics!.
Foods!. You can choose to eat the foods that are good for you; that will make your body function so all of you organs will work like a clock!. Causing your body to be healthy as long as you live!.
OR, you can eat everything that will harm your body!. Smoking and drinking and not getting enough rest at night, loading up with sugars and things that make you gain a lot of weight!. not drinking enough water each day etc!. Clog up your arteries, making it difficult for your organs to work the way they are supposed to!. Causing you to have trouble breathing and walking!.
We all are given one life to live!. It's what we do with it that makes us a success!. It's the choices that we make that determine how happy we will be, how heathy we will be!. And how much we enjoy each day living to the fullest!.
Have you noticed how many choices of everything that is available in the world today!. Much more than when our ancestors were growing up!. Look at the choices that they made from the beginning of time until today; to make everything better for our future!. By taking advantage of these choices; our destiny is in our hands!. To make the best life we can make for ourselves and our children who follow!.
Get busy!. Make the most of every hour and every day!. Enjoy your life!.
also, it's our choice where we will go after this life is over!. So many choices!. We are in control of our lives!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The cause and effect argument to deny the existence of any freewill, as so wonderfully explained by you in your question, is indeed irrefutable in my view!. We know no God, so I wouldn't think about whether anyone can predict or not or know in advance or not!.!.!. so long as I can see that anything and everything that happens or we think we do is indeed caused and at the same time also works as the causative factor for the following event or action, it is only to be accepted that there is a continuing chain of cause and effect occurring as time passes!.!.!.!. it is of course possible that there may be more than one chain of cause and effect in operation at once, but that does not negate the irrefutable conclusion that everything that is done or happens is determined by something that has happened or been done earlier!.!.!.!. this chain or a number of such chains have been in operation from before our birth and indeed our birth itself is nothing but one intermediate link in such a chain!.!.!.!.!.!.!. therefore, it is indeed an illusion that we think we are free to will and act whichever either way!.!.!.!.!. the very act of our making a choice or decision is itself caused as part of the inevitable chain of causes and effects!.!.!.!.!. the causative factors may be so numerous and so spread over various times and places and events that we may not be able to identify them in every case and therefore, we are led to believe as though we have independently taken any decision or made any choice or acted in any particular way!.!.!.!.!.!. ignorance of the entire gamut of the chain of causes and effects gives rise to the illusion of any independently generated action, choice or decision!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

free will is free because it costs nothing!. you use will power every single day!. you never have any consequences from using it, only from what you use it for!. that's why it's called free!. this does not mean that cause and effect are not always at work!. they are!. will power can exert outside force on cause and effect, causing it to go in directions it would otherwise not have gone!. that's why there are always consequences to how you use will power!. and by the way, making a choice is an act of will!. making the choice in itself has no consequences, no payback so to speak!. but the choice that gets made has consequences, or effects, payback!.

people like to argue more than that though, over it!. they go on and argue that no choice is ever freely made because all choices are made in accordance with cause and effect such that choices are an illusion!. they like to argue this way, and rely on the fact that when a choice is made the other options weren't selected and so it's easy to argue insofar as only one option is chosen!. it's easy to always say "see it was the only choice you really had b/c of this and that about cause and effect!. well, sure people choose on their experience and circumstances!. but the choice making is in itself free!. no payback for using that power to do so!. the rest of the argument demonstrates people's desire to argue no matter what!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Seems like you are focusing on humans, not a deity!. You can consider something a choice, a freewill because you are the one with authority in your life!. Doesnt matter if everything is predetermined because you are the one(who decided) walking that path!. But when the concept of free will is combined with god, it doesnt make sense!. It cant be reconciled because free will becomes part of determinism, because, 'god knows all'!.

if free will and determinism is to be reconciled, god must be not perfect!. The ultimate logic why free will becomes part of determinism is that god 'knows all'!. So free will is merely part of determinism!. In order for those two concept to be combined, the only logical answer you can come up with is that god is not perfect!.

In conclusion it depends on your view!. If you are focussing free will with ONLY humans, the free will and determinism makes sense!. But if you are considering omnipresent, omnipotent, all knowing deity, you cant!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

well think of this senario!.

a boy goes downstairs to the kitchen before school!.
his mother asks him "what would you like to eat for breakfast!?, cereal or pancakes!?"
this implies that the child is going to eat something reguardless of if he is hungry or not!.

thats called a loaded question!. it gives the Y or X options for the answer without giving credance to extra alternatives!.

free will does exist though!. although it IS influenced by habit such as you stated!. our habits are developed through our experiences such as in what order we put our cloths on or where we go (or if we go at all) for breakfast!.

free will though is whats known as the X-factor!. the "what if i dont want to, what if i dont feel like it, right now or ever"

free will is the option to ask the question in the first place!. all inventors ask this question reguardless of the initial reasons!.

thomas eddison sat down and said "-what if- there is another way to make light than to use candles!?"

think on this and also realize that thinking about it is itself, an act of free will!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Nope fatalism is dead, science has proved that future events are probable not inevitable!. Basically there is no way to predict all the events that take place and some of those events are based purely upon probability(like say if you have 10 trillon or 10 trillion and 1 electrons at a given moment)being that you are part of probable system certian aspects of your life are based upon probability due to the fact that you interact with a mulitude of systems as you go about your daily life this increase probability because those systems are also based on a probable system!. If what you say is true then by all rights wheather men should always give accurate forecasts because we know the laws of thermodynamics but simply knowing those laws does not remove the fact that no matter how much information you have about the events prior to the present it will never be enough to predict the future with 100 percent certianity and in fact the further you predict for an event the greater the probability that you will be wrong increases!. You are just confused about physics thats all, if you look into it you will learn that what you say is only true if you accept the manyworlds interperatation of quantum mechanics and then are able to objectively view all possible universes that can exist after the initial conditions that gave riase to ours, there are literaly an infinite amount of parallel universe in that theory and so the fact that you have determinism is almost made moot because of that infinity!.
Not all things in our universe happen because of casuality, some things appear to happen for no aperent reason on at subatomic levels and then when they do the introduce anomalies in a casual system that make that system a probability based system instead of a deterministic system, of course Einstein was upset by this because I suppose he must have believed as you do, but you guys are wrong on this one sorry!.
Look at intropy for example, no there is no way to predict with 100 percent accuracy where a single molocule of gas will be even if you know its starting position tempareture direction of movement and speed, now if you want to predict where that same molocule will be in hour within a closed system you cant be sure even if you know all the same information about every onter particle in that system because at a subatomic level there are random events that will effect the whole system and prevent absolute predictions so to solve the problem you have to just give a probability of where it will be after an hours time has passed!. Or maybe you just dont want to take responsibility for your own actions, yeah right if I am accountable for my actions you bet your you know what that I am going to hold you acountable for your actions also, it would not be fair if I had to accept responsibility and you got to just blame the past for everything you do!.
Nope I am not going to let you slide by that easily!.Www@QuestionHome@Com