Free will

[Æsahættr]

I don't see why it's so depressing to so many people if there's no free will. There's no such thing as colour either, but that's no reason not to enjoy the illusion of it while knowing that it is still an illusion. There's hundreds of things that are illusions created by our brains, but for the purpose of living our lives we can treat them as not illusions, in the same way that when rockets are sent into space, newton's laws are used to make the calculations, despite the fact that they are not in fact perfectly true, because they do the job well enough. The concept of free will is a useful one.

 

[alexander garcia]

free will is it true? First i think we have to put it in a bottle and see what it is. This is because when you speak to some one about this topic there are as many ideas as there are people. Here is a genneral thought, free will is choosing to do things with out being forced to do it. But what is the it? Many times over the years I have spoken to people about this and in the end they change the meaning of free will to mean you can choose to go to heaven or hell and that is the only choice you ever have. Well if you ask anyone did you choose your parents? Or your hight, or eye color or skin color or any of the things that we know we had no choise in. Lets look at the few things we think we can choose. Well we can choose to go to the store. Or can we? We must have free will to do something as simple as go to the store? Well only if you have money, or are going to rob the place or to just look. Well if you want to go to the store and live in the Congo, to bad! I guess your will was not good enough. But then the mouse in the maze thinks it's his plan too. Here in is a simple test that the Almighty gave me to pass on, and it is mostly for those that want the truth. If you have free will use it, choose never to sin again!

 

[BucephalusBB]

If you have free will use it, choose never to sin again!

Alright, and what if you don't know sin

 

[Mystic-als]

I think this topic is discussed at length already. I'll look for the thread and post it here.

 

[bigvindaloo]

free will is it true? First i think we have to put it in a bottle and see what it is. This is because when you speak to some one about this topic there are as many ideas as there are people. Here is a genneral thought, free will is choosing to do things with out being forced to do it. But what is the it? Many times over the years I have spoken to people about this and in the end they change the meaning of free will to mean you can choose to go to heaven or hell and that is the only choice you ever have. Well if you ask anyone did you choose your parents? Or your hight, or eye color or skin color or any of the things that we know we had no choise in. Lets look at the few things we think we can choose. Well we can choose to go to the store. Or can we? We must have free will to do something as simple as go to the store? Well only if you have money, or are going to rob the place or to just look. Well if you want to go to the store and live in the Congo, to bad! I guess your will was not good enough. But then the mouse in the maze thinks it's his plan too. Here in is a simple test that the Almighty gave me to pass on, and it is mostly for those that want the truth. If you have free will use it, choose never to sin again!

Psychology has shown that motor neurones will fire several hundreds milliseconds before a subject will report having a thought to move their arm (for instance). This is taken as evidence against free will. All it proves for me is that some of what we might call free will might in fact be subconscious. With regard to planning for whatever event you have described, largely this could occur through subconscious pathways also. The biggest mystery of free will is consciousness itself. Is this an act of will, or an emergent property of largely subconscious processes. Stay tuned!

 

[michel]

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[sonflour_2001]

Free will. You guys sure know how to pick em! I posted something about this in another thread. It's hard to explain what I feel, but I'll give it a try anyway.

Most people think of free will solely in terms of being able to choose something. However, I usually think of free will in terms of God's free will. God is always defined as having absolute freedom, as an inclusive result of his all-encompassing nature. Thus, no one can force God to do anything against his will or nature. He is completely non contingent in his existence, completely outside of any persuation, and completely independent. Nowhere in this understanding, is there any indication of needing to make decisions. I think God's ultimate freedom comes not from the fact that he needs the ability to make a choice (not saying that he doesn't have that ability), but from the fact that he doesn't have any internal conflict to begin with. His nature is such that he will always live in accordance with his nature of Love, Truth, Light, Righteousness. God's ultimate freedom comes from the fact that he never reacts.

Similarly, I think many people presently don't have free will. Surprising...yeah. But, that doesn't say that you can't get free will. In life we are always preoccupied with many things. They may range from love to wealth. These wants captivate us or capture our attention and consequently we end up in situations where we oftentimes act against our true nature (one I believe to be made up of life, love, truth, and righteousness) and thus our free will is lost. I think free will isn't simply about being able to make a choice. A dog can make a choice. He can choose one toy over another. Simply making choices is not free will, and I agree with what many non-believers say about free will in the case of defining it simply as choice-making: it's simply the result of past experiences and their influences on our decisions.

However, for me free will is so much more. It implies the ability to follow your heart, soul, nature, spirit, seed of righteousness, stamp of divinity...whatever you want to call it...wherever it takes you. Free will lies in the ability to stop all reactions and simply live every moment of your life in accordance with who, and what you are. Free from distractions, free from worries, free from guilt, free from fear.

The catch is that you have to first find out who you are, before you can be that person. God is that he is and that's what he is and who he is, and he never acts out of accordance of his nature of Love and Truth. The result is: absolute free will. The paradox is that such free will doesn't really need freedom b/c when you always act in accordance to who you truly are...you don't really need the choice to do otherwise. Although choosing to never do otherwise is a choice itself...
Funny thing, but I expected nothing less from God: the ultimate paradox. Now awaiting someone to come along a put another crazy, wonderful twist or rebuttal on my argument, because no understanding of God and by relation, ourselves can ever be complete.

Sorry if this is crazy...or doesn't make any sense.
(I love this forum!)

Dee