Free Will

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of Instructor]

[Subject]

[Date]

Free Will

Introduction

Free will is an innate characteristic that is possessed by human beings, a person's free actions are those actions that he/she takes as a result of his/her free will. Free will is also interconnected with freedom of movement and moral responsibility. It is also defined as a philosophical term for a particular sort of rational agents to choose a course of responses from other choices. Philosophers in every decade have discussed the idea of free will, and every philosopher had something to add to the idea. By these definitions, it is apparent that human beings make decisions according to their moral beliefs. These beliefs cause actions into motion and that produces the effect in the real world ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"fW4Ak0kp","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Grim, \\uc0\\u8220{}Free Will in Context\\uc0\\u8221{})","plainCitation":"(Grim, “Free Will in Context”)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":256,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/XCJPGUX6"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/XCJPGUX6"],"itemData":{"id":256,"type":"article-journal","title":"Free will in context: A contemporary philosophical perspective","container-title":"Behavioral sciences & the law","page":"183–201","volume":"25","issue":"2","source":"Google Scholar","shortTitle":"Free will in context","author":[{"family":"Grim","given":"Patrick"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Grim n.p). Many philosophers including Plato, have discussed that whether humans have free will or not.

Discussion

Plato was the first and only philosopher in the western world to define the term of free will. He claims that free will only exists when a person is independently choosing to change his belief system, but such beliefs provide the straight cause for the application of will. Therefore, in the context of Plato, it is safe to say that while taking life decisions certain conditions are present and that influence the personal decision-making power. Hobbes was another philosopher who explained when a man considers that whether he should do a particular thing, he first thinks about the outcomes of the action being taken and also the impact of the taken action on the overall life of the individual, if the taken action is good for his future then the person will do that otherwise he /she will try another way out. The consideration of a specific action is primarily to consider the good or bad behavior of a particular thing. Hobbes feels that the action a man makes as a result of complete consideration are entirely intentional and those actions are done by full choice and election. Therefore it is safe to say that an individual only takes a specific action by considering the future outcomes and consequence on his life as a result of taking those actions, he or she is not free to take action or take the decision abruptly rather there are some determinants of the action being taken ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"U9At4siK","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Grim, \\uc0\\u8220{}1. The Dilemma of Determinism\\uc0\\u8221{})","plainCitation":"(Grim, “1. The Dilemma of Determinism”)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":262,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/ICRK8K44"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/ICRK8K44"],"itemData":{"id":262,"type":"article-journal","title":"1. The Dilemma of Determinism","container-title":"Behavioral Sciences and the Law","page":"183-201","volume":"25","author":[{"family":"Grim","given":"Patrick"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Grim, n.p).

Although most of the people believe that they have free will because they are free to do everything but in reality, a person takes an action after considering all the factors and outcomes of that specific action. Human beings from the very start follow a particular pattern, they go to school, they get education even if they don’t like to follow the routine. There are people who only follow this pattern because they are scared that if they don’t get education they will be jobless and will not have a secure future, so the fear of the future determines their action, it is likely that if they would follow their free will they will never go to school. Despite of all these facts people still believe in free will because various psychological researches have proved that by believing in free will, a person feels confident and contended, therefore, it is beneficial for the mental health of a person ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"VdLFURBz","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Do We Have Free Will? | Psychology Today})","plainCitation":"(Do We Have Free Will? | Psychology Today)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1683,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/HCXPHIMK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/HCXPHIMK"],"itemData":{"id":1683,"type":"webpage","title":"Do We Have Free Will? | Psychology Today","URL":"https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/proceed-your-own-risk/201311/do-we-have-free-will","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",4,20]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Do We Have Free Will? | Psychology Today).

Plummeting feeling of self-rule can make a person violent and stranded. As long as people are aware that only they have control over their lives and they are free to choose everything then they are happy and satisfied, the moment they realize that they don’t have a free choice and there are determinants of their actions then they become irritated and unsatisfied, therefore it is important to make them realize that they have control over their lives and free to take their own decisions. The topic of free will was on the list of debate of philosophers from so many years that whether all humans possess free will or not? Until recently neuroscientists and psychologists enter the discussion by explaining the brain role in the open will dilemma. Several influential neurological studies showed that the brain illuminates with activity before an individual becomes determinedly aware of a decision. They further argue independently made decision activates the brain activity when they made choices out of there free will ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"xXeoBoKp","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Do We Have Free Will? | Psychology Today})","plainCitation":"(Do We Have Free Will? | Psychology Today)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1683,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/HCXPHIMK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/HCXPHIMK"],"itemData":{"id":1683,"type":"webpage","title":"Do We Have Free Will? | Psychology Today","URL":"https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/proceed-your-own-risk/201311/do-we-have-free-will","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",4,20]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Do We Have Free Will? | Psychology Today).

Conclusion

On the basis of all these philosophies and discussions that are mentioned above and the modern studies about the brain response to free will, it is safe to say that humans have no free will. Because whatever decision we make and whatever choice we go for we do it by considering all the possible outcomes and the effect of those choices on our future life. Therefore, the decision we make is basically dependent on the outcomes and what type of life we will be living after taking the decision. We take very calculated risks because as human beings we all want a safe and secure experience. Before making any decision, we first consider the potential outcomes if the outcome is good and it involves less risk we take the decision otherwise we go for alternatives. That means that we do not have a free will, whatever we do, we do under the pressure of a happy and healthy life.

Work Cited

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Do We Have Free Will? | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/proceed-your-own-risk/201311/do-we-have-free-will. Accessed 20 Apr. 2019.

Grim, Patrick. “1. The Dilemma of Determinism.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law, vol. 25, 2007, pp. 183–201.

“Free Will in Context: A Contemporary Philosophical Perspective.” Behavioral Sciences & the Law, vol. 25, no. 2, 2007, pp. 183–201.