If free will was not real

[bennyboy]

Intention isn't a supporting argument for free will.  Will is the expression of intent.  Free will is the expression of intent unfettered by obstacles or compulsions from the world outside the acting agent.

The same problem persists. Freedom of the will is contingent upon external circumstances (the absence or existence thereof). You're simply offering up anecdotal examples of the former; not an adequate argument for freewill writ large.

I'm not sure why interactions with one's environment are equivalent to compulsion.  I've defined will as the capacity to manifest intent in the world.  Obviously, in order for one to FORM intent, one has to have been affected by the world at some point.

But that's what personhood is: it's the sum total of all the internal influences, including feelings, memories, etc.  Obviously, if I had never eaten ice cream, I would be unlikely to seek it in a store.  But that doesn't matter-- at the moment of selection, nothing is compelling me except my own nature.