The way I see it, free will is an illusion.
It looks like we have the freedom to make our choices.... but... hypothetically, if it was possible to make some choice and then go back to exactly the same conditions as before that choice was made..... would you ever choose differently?
e.g.
You're at a store, tons of different yogurt flavors available.... you choose ?... strawberry.
Time rewinds, you're back at that store, the dairy aisle, which flavor will you choose? Remember, you have no memory of your previous choice, time rewound and your experience of it too.
The brain is a physical system... a rather complex system, but physical and, as such, deterministic. You will always choose strawberry, because you are hardwired to choose strawberry. That hard-wiring is time-dependent, so you may choose differently at another time, with different memories and experiences... but, for the same memories and experiences, the same tastes, the same shelves, the same advertisement.... you will always pick strawberry.
There is a conscious decision to go for strawberry, you actively consider all your options, the prices, etc... you feel like you are choosing... and you are... but you will always pick strawberry.
Of what use would be a brain if it knew that it was deterministic? not too much... so evolution didn't select for that particular trait. Science, however... seems to be cruel and gives us these nuggets of intellectualism... I know I do not freely choose things... but I act as if I do choose them all the same, because I must... otherwise, I'm dead.
It looks like we have the freedom to make our choices.... but... hypothetically, if it was possible to make some choice and then go back to exactly the same conditions as before that choice was made..... would you ever choose differently?
e.g.
You're at a store, tons of different yogurt flavors available.... you choose ?... strawberry.
Time rewinds, you're back at that store, the dairy aisle, which flavor will you choose? Remember, you have no memory of your previous choice, time rewound and your experience of it too.
The brain is a physical system... a rather complex system, but physical and, as such, deterministic. You will always choose strawberry, because you are hardwired to choose strawberry. That hard-wiring is time-dependent, so you may choose differently at another time, with different memories and experiences... but, for the same memories and experiences, the same tastes, the same shelves, the same advertisement.... you will always pick strawberry.
There is a conscious decision to go for strawberry, you actively consider all your options, the prices, etc... you feel like you are choosing... and you are... but you will always pick strawberry.
Of what use would be a brain if it knew that it was deterministic? not too much... so evolution didn't select for that particular trait. Science, however... seems to be cruel and gives us these nuggets of intellectualism... I know I do not freely choose things... but I act as if I do choose them all the same, because I must... otherwise, I'm dead.
