I am not sure what sense compatibilism is being used in, so I didn't vote.
We possess volitional behavior. A rock can do nothing to stop itself when rolling down a hill. As a volitional being I can use my hands and legs to latch onto something to stop my course. I am making a free decision when I am not forced at gunpoint and so on. In this sense I have choices, possibilities open to me in theory.
But on a much more fundamental level I have no choices whatsoever. All of my behavior is the result of forces beyond my control, the outcome of the laws of biochemistry, electricity, and physics acting on my brain and nervous system in conjunction with my environment, genes, and prior experiences.
Though this is an aside and does not of itself count as evidence it is possible at times to experience all of one's usual behavior with no significant observable difference than usual and yet have no experience of free will at all. It can be very peaceful.
We possess volitional behavior. A rock can do nothing to stop itself when rolling down a hill. As a volitional being I can use my hands and legs to latch onto something to stop my course. I am making a free decision when I am not forced at gunpoint and so on. In this sense I have choices, possibilities open to me in theory.
But on a much more fundamental level I have no choices whatsoever. All of my behavior is the result of forces beyond my control, the outcome of the laws of biochemistry, electricity, and physics acting on my brain and nervous system in conjunction with my environment, genes, and prior experiences.
Though this is an aside and does not of itself count as evidence it is possible at times to experience all of one's usual behavior with no significant observable difference than usual and yet have no experience of free will at all. It can be very peaceful.
