Is Free Will an Illusion?

Jump to Last Post 1-7 of 7 discussions (12 posts)
  1. paradigmsearch profile image60
    paradigmsearchposted 11 years ago

    "Are you really in control, or is your every decision predetermined? ..."

    http://www.livescience.com/19213-free-fate.html

    1. galleryofgrace profile image71
      galleryofgraceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      All of life is an illusion created by each human. If one doesn't like their illusion they should change it.

    2. kess profile image60
      kessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You live in a predetermined state until the day you know that you can decide if, when and how you shall die.... And that day is the day of your birth, for it is the dah you begin to Live. Life is absolute freedom.

  2. innersmiff profile image66
    innersmiffposted 11 years ago

    I wouldn't really care if Scientists believed this if it wasn't for this:

    "Though everyone must be held accountable for his or her actions, neuroscience and the nonexistence of free will should be factored into some criminal cases, the scholars argued."

    That is severely worrying. If we posit that there is no free will then we can posit that there is no such thing as morality. Very dangerous.

    1. vector7 profile image62
      vector7posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, they don't seem to care..

      They believed they are predestined to not care anyway, so no one can blame them right?

      It leaves everyone unaccountable, which is simply silly.

      Yes, we have free will, and thinking the opposite holds no logically sound basis at all.

      If "I" want to be a mail-man, then it is a 'personal' desire and I go apply.. [who made me do it??]

      That comes from 'freedom'...

      People have blown the concept into confusion because some people wrote long paragraphs and twisted the logic...

      You 'take' freedom from people with guns and power. You can't 'take' what people don't 'have'... Therefore they 'have' freedom, and in freedom they have free will..

      PS: Don't want to hear anyone bashing me, you can't say "I don't have free will, something made me this way I 'had' to say something.."

      smile

  3. pedrog profile image60
    pedrogposted 11 years ago

    Of course we have free will, we have no other choice...

    1. paradigmsearch profile image60
      paradigmsearchposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      big_smile

  4. tsmog profile image77
    tsmogposted 11 years ago

    An interesting article. Six is a small segment of a larger population. I found further interest with left brain thinking being 4 and right brain being 2. Pedrog's statement is intriguing too. Bookmarked the article for sci-fi adventure story ideas. I ponder more from the historical perspective vs. the evolution of science. Rational thought vs. empirical thought flows a bit. Now, the question to be considered - was this decision made just now, after writing this blurb, predetermined to post? And, those posts made prior to this post, were they predetermined to give cause to the overall post - content, thoughts, biology, etc. Who knows about the next reader? Or, the subsequent returning viewer too. Is this thread empirical in nature or rational? And, what about the song coming on my internet stream right now 'Baba O'Riley' by the Who. Odd . . . as the P90X commercial says, 'Push the button . . .

  5. DAWNEMARS profile image60
    DAWNEMARSposted 11 years ago

    In some ways it is. There are only so many choices you can make in any given situation. Future is not set -do'nt believe in that. Things are just more likely or less likely.

  6. profile image0
    erickcbposted 11 years ago

    Pedrog: You should make a Hub on that statement.

    1. vector7 profile image62
      vector7posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, he should write how he has no freedom because he isn't free...

      Maybe a inmate will write a response hub..

      Or maybe a ww2 veteran..

  7. vector7 profile image62
    vector7posted 11 years ago

    btw.. if you conclude on the assertion that no one has free will, then you are bound by your own words and moral conclusion to free all thieves, murderers, serial killers, pedofiles, rapists, etc.. as 'they didn't choose to do anything'...

    hmm, yeah - can't wait to see that political agenda.

    i'll be LEAVING the country. Of my OWN FREE WILL.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)