Does Free Will Exist?

Does free will exist? Or is it all a giant illusion? Is it possible to have something in between?

It certainly seems as if free will exists. I can choose to keep writing this post, or I can choose not to. I chose my college, I chose my major, I chose my girlfriend. I chose what I made for lunch today. I've chosen to yell at people and to be kind to people. I've chosen to work hard and I've chosen to slack off. I've done a lot of choosing in my life. Not all of it was for my own benefit, but at least in my own life, it seems very clear that I am choosing between options constantly in my life. My own empirical experience points to the conclusion that yes, I am choosing.

Who generally disagrees with the idea of free will? Determinists, and I consider this group to include Calvinists who believe in predestination. The arguments for free will differ tremendously depending on whether debating an atheistic determinist or a Christian determinist. Taking a determinist view for the atheist avoids many of the metaphysical problems associated with free will, including the issue of souls. Taking a determinist view for a Christian supports the sovereignty of God and the dogma of predestination.

Debating an atheist on this subject is relatively hard. If one starts with the premise that there is no supernatural element to our lives, then it is a short step to say that every action has a cause and our thought processes must have causes as well, influenced only by chemicals and electrical signals within our brains. Do we have choice in such a world? No.

However, if this worldview is actually applied to life, some ridiculous conclusions result. First, any sense of morality is lost. If there is no choice, then the word "fault" is completely meaningly. We cannot choose our future. Thus, the only legitimate type of justice is that used to protect those whose brain chemicals are in line with the social good. As for yourself, why not hurt people or commit white collar crime, as long as you can get away with it? I guess this question is obsolete, because you couldn't choose to anyway, unless it was already going to happen. You cannot work on making a difference: you either will or you won't, and you probably won't. Furthermore, if we can't choose, can we trust our own logic? If it is deterministic processes of chemicals, logic can only be right in the sense that it helps us understand the world and what's in it. However, when talking about anything abstract, there is no reason for logic to work at all. God could exist and not exist at the same time.

For a Christian, it is much easier to argue for free will. They believe in a loving God who created us. His will is for all to go to heaven (1 Tim 2:4),  yet "small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."(Matt 7:13) Thus, the issue of God's will always happening is opposed by the Bible itself. Furthermore, if we believe in a loving God, we believe that God would want the best for us. That should not involve Hell, as the horrible place we accept it to be. Thus, God would not make us specifically for this place. There must be some other reason why some of us go there. If God is all-powerful, why doesn't he stop us from going there? Maybe it is because some of us choose to go there, and God in His infinite wisdom thought that free will was more important that sovereignty.

Finally, can free will exist while God also plans out our every move? This is the same as asking can God and I both be the ones who choose my every action? This simply cannot happen if my will and God's differs at all. Then, who's will trumps the other? If God's will trumps mine, then I do not have free will, because even if I choose something different than God, it will not happen. This is certainly not free. If my will trumps, than I do have free will, but God did not plan it. Even if God planned something else, I would be able to change that plan based on what I chose.

Here is where people try to distinguish between planning and choosing. They say God planned everything, but we are the ones that choose God's plan. First, this runs into the same problems as above because God is planning horrible things to people. Second, if we are choosing, we should have a legitimate decision between two options. Until we make the choice, it should be at least a little uncertain to outsiders which option will be chosen. Otherwise, it's not a choice. It's the illusion of choice. Choice implies uncertainty.

Whether atheist or Christian, you have to address the empirical basis for free will as well as these other arguments. Many atheists accept my objections, and they are free to do that. It is just a very sad way of living. If you are Christian, there is no way to get around the logical inconsistancy of a loving God and a planned trip to Hell.