Free will

[SlackJim]

Do you believe free will exists? are we conscious beings making decisions or are we acting as a result of brain activity out of our control? I used to think free will does not exist but now I'm maybe 50/50

 

[Life sucks]

Before asking if free will exists, we should ask what is free will? What is decision making? Depending on how you look at it, it may exists or not. If we talk about our lives and how we feel and don't look at the whole scientific point of view, then it exists. But otherwise, it doesn't exist

 

[CuriousAboutThis]

I shall say yes free will does exist if you want to know what free will is like when it is taken away from you like someone did while using truth serum on me or certain type of mind control drugs which believe it or not does exist it doesn't make you tell you the truth sodium pentothal or other psychoactive drugs if mixed together well enough can make people control you with sleep hypnosis and of the such people can make you say and do things against your own consciousness will or use subliminal mind tricks on you to make you do things within your subconscious so be careful the police even once made me do things against my own will but I won't be able to prove it to you due to I lack the evidence and I know my word isn't enough not crazy nor delusional but it is possible to take other people's free will away if you use the right drugs and sleep hypnosis and subliminal mind tricks.

 

[fieryending]

I honestly don't know. Free will exists to the extent that we feel like we have free will, but we will never know. For the past few years I have had the strangest feeling like I'm reliving my life. Certain events are really vivid and I get strong deja vu. I also get deja vu after an event happens I think back about it, I have the feeling that it happened before it happened if that makes sense. Maybe it's because I do kill myself, but I keep on being reborn into this life, and I will keep being reborn here until I live through it without taking my life. That is my biggest fear about offing myself. I could deal with hell, just not a neverending loop of this shitty life.

 

[Return2Dust]

I honestly don't know. Free will exists to the extent that we feel like we have free will, but we will never know. For the past few years I have had the strangest feeling like I'm reliving my life. Certain events are really vivid and I get strong deja vu. I also get deja vu after an event happens I think back about it, I have the feeling that it happened before it happened if that makes sense. Maybe it's because I do kill myself, but I keep on being reborn into this life, and I will keep being reborn here until I live through it without taking my life. That is my biggest fear about offing myself. I could deal with hell, just not a neverending loop of this shitty life.

I'm afraid of a never ending loop of this shitty life too. What if I keep screwing it up and I can't get past the hard part? Just sit here and ride it out until the end?

 

[Mr2005]

^ I'd love to do this again. I was dealt a good set of cards I just played them awfully. If I knew that's what would happen then I'd definitely be out of here

 

[Eurus]

I like to think we do,but I don't really know

 

[Heart of Ice]

I've come to the conclusion that free will does not exist.

 

[Final Escape]

Yes I do but when I was young I didn't because we are brainwashed to assume we have no agency or that things just happen to us and we have little or no control over anything. If we are not free or do not live under freedom we do have less free will for sure. If you aren't taught to be rational or live in reality of how things actually are according to established facts and evidence then u will not be able to make accurate decisions that benefit u in life.

 

[GlowingCactus]

Yes and I have no doubt whatsoever. Of course I can't prove it. Just like I can't prove that I am conscious yet I'm 100% sure it's true because I'm experiencing that directly. Since it can't be proved, you can call it a belief if you want but I personally don't think it's a belief anymore than saying this chair in front of me is real. In my opinion, doubting absolutely everything is unreasonable.

 

[seekingoblivion]

I don't believe we have free will. Matter moves in accordance with predetermined laws. So to me it follows that, being composed of matter, human beings operate in accordance with predetermined laws.

 

[Boonks]

 

[Deleted member 1465]

It exists but it's not an absolute thing. Neither is predestination. It's not either / or but one complements the other. You will always have a tendency to behave in a certain way in any given circumstance but the choices you make are your own. But those choices will of course be based on your tendencies.
So yes you will always find yourself in similar circumstances but you can still choose to make different choices.

 

[SlackJim]

I'm curious

I've come to the conclusion that free will does not exist.

Do you think consciousness is only the result of a physical being coming into the world, or do you think it is separate to our physical bodies?

 

[Divine Trinity]

Do you believe free will exists? are we conscious beings making decisions or are we acting as a result of brain activity out of our control? I used to think free will does not exist but now I'm maybe 50/50

Going by the contemporary use of the word, I don't, and every field of science suggest otherwise. There is obviously an ego, and a false sense of choice, but that's says more about the limitations to human cognitive capacity than otherwise. "Give me two healthy infants, and I'll return to you a doctor and a plumber" (paraphrasing).

Academia is aware of it's own dissonance, but fears the consequences of debunking the myth of free will to the public.

 

[Lethe]

Wasn't there a brainscan study a while back which saw that the brain makes decisions in the subconscious several seconds before you're even aware of your decision? I'm too lazy to look for it rn so I'm not sure if it's hokum or not.

Regardless, I don't think there's such thing as free will, no.

 

[Heart of Ice]

I'm curious

Do you think consciousness is only the result of a physical being coming into the world, or do you think it is separate to our physical bodies?

Consciousness is physical, everything is matter.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

Consciousness is physical, everything is matter.

Matter is essentially condensed energy and energy is movement of particles which consist mostly of nothing... it all gets a bit Wooley!

Wasn't there a brainscan study a while back which saw that the brain makes decisions in the subconscious several seconds before you're even aware of your decision? I'm too lazy to look for it rn so I'm not sure if it's hokum or not.

Regardless, I don't think there's such thing as free will, no.

I recall from basic psychology at uni that we process most of our sensory input without awareness.