Free will: True choice or illusion

Humans widely accept the fact that we have free will. No one can force someone to do something they don’t want. This makes one responsible for one’s actions; however, we live in a society where we are influenced by social media, trends, songs and laws established by our government. This begs the question, do we actually have free will?

In some cases, one might have free will. You decided to read this article, and I decided to write this article, for a couple of examples. Our law system is also based on the fact that we are responsible for our actions. 

In contrast, Kurzgesagt, a German educational channel, said “You are an NPC.” Kurzgesagt explains that particles, atoms, protons and electrons follow the laws of physics and quantum mechanics. 

Theoretically, one could put a series of complex equations into an impossibly powerful supercomputer to determine where someone would end up, even what they would do, based on the behavior of the atoms and particles people are made of. 

By this logic, everything is predetermined, so free will wouldn’t truly exist.

But we are more than just atoms, and we’ve created a world where we’re bound by more than just the laws of physics. 

We can look at morals, what any one person may consider “good” or “bad” based on their lived experience or broader cultural, and societal expectations. 

The laws of morality influence our decisions and limit free will, though one can argue we have free will regardless — after all, we can break them whenever we want, despite suffering the consequences.

Say you succumb to your intrusive thoughts and decide to steal a sucker from a baby. You’ve just demonstrated free will: You weren’t influenced by society — “Stealing from a baby is bad!”

But every action does have a reaction. Others’ perceptions will lead to consequences, and one will be influenced by society’s desire for morality: The baby starts to cry, the parents start yelling at you and the people walking by judge you; you will feel embarrassed, and you may apologize and never do it again. You control your actions but not others’ reactions.

Let’s look at a different perspective: fate and the Big Bang. In Christianity, God is often described as omnipotent and all-knowing. It is often argued that God gave us free will; however, if God is all knowing, then he knows how everything ends — in other words, predetermination. 

If God knows everything, past, present and future, our decisions are predetermined. Even if we have multiple choices, it is already decided what we will pick. Regardless of whether God interferes, this is merely an illusion of free will as everything is still predetermined under these circumstances.  

So, is there free will? No. Everything we do is influenced. Whenever we do something that others frown upon, we quickly correct the mistake and follow the herd — even not following trends is a trend. Every action prepares our next decision. 

You may think you’re acting freely, but it's merely a pattern repeating itself until, inevitably, it breaks.