Is 'free will' just a myth?

1. 76

   Anishpatposted 12 years ago

   Is 'free will' just a myth?
   
   

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2. 0

   msorenssonposted 12 years ago

   It is not a myth. But to get to that space of true free will, one would have to do a lot of work.

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3. 54

   adam the usernameposted 12 years ago

   i think a myth is the free will.....................................................................!

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4. 68

   CR Rookwoodposted 12 years ago

   I think free will is an idea that is exploited by many to shift blame around. Of course we have choices, we make choices, but the choices presented to us are in large part the result of the actions of others. This is where the idea of karma comes in, and most people don't understand it--they think it means if you smack somebody then in your next life someone will smack you--which is a very simple and narcissistic way of thinking about it. It's more complicated than that.
   
   So what I'm saying is, if you are stuck in a very difficult karmic loop, then yes you will have choices but perhaps not the choices you want. You many be suffering through some problems that are generations old, that were created generations ago. You may suffer. This is not your fault, you didn't create it because you are bad, it is just the way the world works--actions have consequences, all actions, and not just for the people who act.
   
   A longwinded answer, sorry.
   
   Just saying, I guess, that we don't create our own lives as much as we think we do, and we aren't as free as we think we are. We are connected to everything and everybody else. It isn't all about each of us individually and whether we have tofu or chicken for lunch.

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5. 79

   Ranziposted 12 years ago

   Depends how you view life, where you live and your circumstances.
   Say you come from a traditional family, have children and a wife/husband, free will is not always there as you may have to make sacrifices and choices based on what's best to your family and the obligations you have.
   Say you work for a company, have a boss and clients. You have an obligation to wake up every day, go to work from 9-5, dress presentably and at times bend over backwards to reach KPI's, targets and do well to keep your job.
   Even someone who is unemployed and earns welfare income from the government, has an obligation to look for work, attend their local job centre and take any job offer they can physically do.
   Also free will decreases depending on the country, religion, laws, rules, government etc
   At times people end up finding true free will once they give up their possessions, leave jobs and obligations behind and begin to live for themselves.

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6. 59

   Civil War Bobposted 12 years ago

   The short answer to your question would be "yes."  Since I don't get paid, I'll refer you to my hub, "Free Will, Free Willy, Freed Will, and Willfully Free For Now."

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7. 61

   Dubuquedogtrainerposted 12 years ago

   That's a pretty short question, which means that you may get a variety of answers depending on what people think you are asking. "Free will" is God-given, but that does not mean that in some societies and cultures and in some groups of people free will is not constrained. And it should be if free means committing illegal harmful acts to some people, the free will needs to be constrained to protect people. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world and we need laws and constraints to protect and maintain order. The alternative is anarchy.

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8. 74

   SidKempposted 12 years ago

   Clearly, we all have the ability to make choices, and live with the results of those choices. There is no more, or less, to free will than that.
   
   Anything we practice with diligence and attention, we get better at it. A person who is aware of what he says before he speaks can choose what not to say, rather than blurt it out. Through practice, we can increase our freedom of choice, gaining self-control, then self-mastery, and increasing our freedom.
   
   So free will is an innate capacity in each of us, and most of us do not use it enough to exercise freedom of choice, become masters of ourselves, and experience the true joy and peace of freedom.
   
   But we can. And it's up to us. So, yes, there is free will in each of us and all of us, waiting to be made real.

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9. 65

   ThunderKeysposted 12 years ago

   Freud and his predecessors tricked themselves and their followers into believing in what they called psychological determinism. The idea that we are at the whim of dark unconscious psychological drives for sex and death.
   
   The behaviorists followed suite but placed the control for human thought, feeling and action solely on the environment. No behavior (including what we think and even what we say about our choices) takes place with out reinforcement, they argue (even today), often in contrast to punishment.
   
   What these guys failed to see and what true spiritual wisdom has always shared, is that we can choose and shape our environments to constructively channel our  inbuilt impulses. Free will is not a myth it's a choice.
   
   I choose free will. What do you choose?

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10. 59

    nightwork4posted 12 years ago

    the statement "we were given free will " is a myth because no one or nothing gave it to us. free will is just an easy way of saying we do as we please. could you imagine trying to get people to believe in some god if the bible stated that their god took away our free will?

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11. 70

    Darrell Robertsposted 12 years ago

    Hm, interesting. 
    
    Looking at free will from the standpoint of creation, I would have to say that there is no such thing as free will.  Did we really choose to get created and put in this world?  I thnk not, or I was drunk when they asked me.  I would have opt for a more peaceful world if I had my way.
    
    Even if a person argues that we have choices.  I would argue that this planet and the set up was not in our list of choices.  There are physical demands on the body that we must yield to i.e. sleep and hunger.  Then there is the fact that we have to interact with other people regardless of if we want to or not, just to get our basic needs. 
    
    So to keep it short, I did not choose to be here, I did not choose this body, planet, my parents, where I was born etc.  All these things were chosen for me, so how could I have a free will?
    
    I think that people like the idea of free will because it makes them feel strong.  However, I think if they look at the physical reality, they would come to the conclusion that even if we had frree will it is minute in the grand scheme of things.
    
    Best wishes

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    1. 79

       Ranziposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Wow best answer. Love it

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12. 79

    phillippeengelposted 12 years ago

    'Free will' is not a myth. We need it to survive. The problem is that 'free will' is really hard to gauge and measure in remote places.

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