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Free Will

On this page I will explain why free will as it is normally defined is nonsense. To do so I need to delve into the precise definition of it, and the definition of libertarian freedom. I will show that it makes no sense, and that we would not want free will if we had it.

While the opposite of free will appears to be very undesirable, that is a misunderstanding of how emergence works to give us control without being free in a libertarian sense. Instead of free will, we have self will which is determined, but it is determined by ourselves. Self will is what we actually want, because we want to be able to determine what we do, not just to act free from any constraints. Self will is compatible with determinism.

[Key Takeaway]

Free will as it is properly defined by philosophy is nonsense because nothing is ever completely free. We don't need or desire that kind of freedom. What we have and want is self will where we determine what we do.

Definition of Free Will​

Free will is "The power of making choices that are neither determined by natural causality nor predestined by fate or divine will." - American Heritage Dictionary

Free will is the "freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention" - Merriam Webster

"Libertarian free will is the philosophical view that individuals have the capacity to make choices that are not determined by prior events or causal laws, allowing for genuine alternative possibilities in decision-making." - Libertarian Free Will Explained

Each of these definitions describes an action that is done, and that action is described as a choice. That is, there are potentially two or more actions, and one ultimately obtains. The discussion usually focusses on the relationship to a cause, and particularly that there is no cause to the action. It is "free" from causation, which sets it directly contrary to determinism, the idea that everything is caused. We need to understand what causation is.

Uncaused means Random​

If something is not caused, then it is ontologically random. If something is uncaused then it could happen equally at any moment and at any place. The cause is the reason that something happens at a particular time and place. The ball flying through the window is the reason that the glass breaks. If the glass breakage was uncaused, then it could break at any time without any association with any other event in the universe.

We may define a cause to be an object, followed by another, and where all the objects similar to the first, are followed by objects similar to the second. - David Hume

Hume denied causality as a mechanism, but he did see correspondences between events: the cue ball hist the numbered ball, causing that ball to go in the pocket. Turning the picture around, things don't just happen out of the blue, they happen only when the right conditions preceded them.

If there was a uncaused thing then the condition before them happening is completely unspecified. It can happen at any time, without reason. Happening at any time is what we mean when we say it happens randomly.

It turns out there are thing that are uncaused in the universe: nuclear decay is not caused by anything in the universe. Therefor, nuclear decay occurs randomly. Indeed, the best random number generators are based on nuclear decay, and they are thought to be most random numbers that can be generated electronically.

Random would be Bad​

Any person that had a tendency to do completely uncaused things, that is they produce certain acts completely randomly, would be dangerous to themselves. They might randomly jump off a cliff. They might randomly decide to drink arsenic. Or drink from that can of latex paint for no particular reason. They might try to breath under water.

The fact is that people survive by doing the right thing nearly 100% of the time. You don't breath under water. You don't poke the knife in your eye. You don't hug the hungry lion. You don't eat foul tasting food. A hundred times a day you prove that you don't do random things.

Always a Reason​

In fact, if you think about it, you always do something for a reason. You eat dinner to cure your hunger. You go to bed because you are sleepy. You hold your breath under water. There is always a reason, and that reason is always based on your desires, and your understanding of how the world works.

The reason is the cause of your choice. You can not say that your will is free, because your will is caused by reasons.

Why People Think that Reasons are Free​

Here we get to the psychology of it all: People think that they pull the reasons for thin air, and that their reasons are unconstrained. "Sure, I don't drink latex paint, but I could if I wanted to." They believe their will is uncaused, and that reasoning is unconstrained by the universe.

The illusion of free will is seated in this idea that the reasons you come up with for an action are not caused by anything else. They appear to be completely uncaused, and just free floating ideas that could be employed by will without any regard to the universe.

You Can't Feel Yourself Think​

The illusion that your choices are independent from the universe is because they appear to come without any effort at all.

Consider this: think of the name of a city. Any city, just pick one right now. Pay attention to what happens inside you. Probably, the names of a few cities just came to you. They just appeared in your thoughts. You then probably considered a couple and picked one as your representative city. What you are not aware of is how those city names appeared in your mind.

Did you think of Berlin? If not, why not? Surely you know of the city. Of course you can't think of every city, but what constraints were placed on the cities that you thought of? Why did the first couple cities appear without effort, and why not others.

We can't feel ourselves think. We don't really have any insight into why those particular cities appeared. They came out of some subconscious process which you are not aware of. And they appeared to come without any effort.

Unaware of how Choices are Gathered​

Same thing happens with choices of action. You face a situation, and so a couple of different courses of action present themselves to you. Because the choice appear to come without effort, you have the illusion that they are completely free. Choosing one course of action appears to be completely free, when in fact it was highly constrained by your prior knowledge and desires. That is the source of the illusion: you think you could choose anything.

In fact there is a definite process whereby the mind comes up with possible options for action. This is what the brain does: figure out possible options for action. The options that appear are highly constrained to your own needs and desires, and ultimately the one that you pick will also be one compatible with your desires at the moment.

Still We Will It​

I hope for the above you see that the source of the choices and your selection of them is entirely a deterministic process. There is one more thing to understand: that process of selecting a course of action is you. If there is anything that is you, it is that process that curates and selects possible actions.

When you enter the ice cream store, and pick Cherry Garcia, rest assure that that choice is indeed your choice. It may be determined by the situation that is more complex that you can fathom, but it is you that is doing the determination, and nobody else.

Some people worry that if their choices are determined, that it means something else is running their bodies, and they have no choices. It is the opposite. You actually determine your choices as fully as you might if you had a free floating soul. There is nobody else making those choices for you. Sure, you always choose the course that fits your needs and desires, and so that is somewhat predictable, however it is exactly what you want to do.

References​

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