Is Free Will an Illusion?

Free will is an illusion! An idea so uncanny and preposterous that it seems to defy human logic by all means. We feel free so we must be free, isn’t it? I mean, I ate momos for breakfast because I wanted to. It makes no sense that our will to act the way we do is predictable. If it indeed is predetermined then do we really have any control over our lives and who can we hold responsible for our actions then?

The story of Oedipus from Greek mythology is a great analogy of this notion. Laius, Oedipus’ father, was warned that he would be murdered by his son. Fearing this prophecy, he abandoned his son who was then adopted by the King of Corinth. Unaware of his adoption, upon learning this ominous prophecy in his early adulthood Oedipus left his parents and was on his way to Thebes. That’s where he encountered Laius who provoked a quarrel between the two leading to his death by Oedipus. When he reached Thebes, he was confronted by Sphinx who took over the city and presented riddles to all passersby, those who could not solve it were killed. Oedipus solved it and was rewarded with the Throne of Thebes and the hand of the queen, his mother. In this way, the prophecy came to light almost effortlessly as if every step taken to avoid it was in fact a step in the direction towards its fulfillment. The decision of Oedipus to leave his adopted parents perceived as a “good” choice by Oedipus is what actually instigated the events that followed. In fact, good and bad are nothing but perceptions of situations from the vantage point of self.

But believe it or not, this illusion is real. The study of brain chemistry more specifically the firing of neurons to form patterns determines not just our behavior but also our thoughts, memories, hopes, and desires. Benjamin Libet, a scientist from the 1980s conducted an experiment that showed how the brain exhibited electrical activity even before the subject consciously made a decision, for eg., to lift a finger. Our awareness of the act is only an illusion that choices and decisions made by us are truly ours. It’s like a foolish king being manipulated by his ministers who believe that his decisions are independent devoid of the ideas planted in his head.

Looking at it from a philosophical point of view we have two concepts libertarian free will and hard determinism. The former believes that metaphysically we can act freely while the latter considers all events to be a result of cause and effect, the idea that a particular cause can only lead to a particular effect. The two ideas are in contrast with one another. The libertarian approach holds in account two views to substantiate their argument. First being event causation, the belief that events taking place in the physical world are deterministic. For instance, a child bouncing on a trampoline falls off breaking the bounce mat because the force with which he/she is jumping is greater than the potential energy of the mat. The second view is of event causation. An agent meaning any being with a mind can independently start a chain of causality from nothing which suggests that free will is real. For instance, my decision to eat momos for breakfast is an act of free will according to this point of view. However, even basic probing of this idea by asking questions like what is compelling the agent to prefer one choice over another and assigning reasons to decisions by answering such questions shatters the very concept of free will.

We all must have had at least one friend who in spite of innumerous breakups get back with their partner ignoring all signs of incompatibility. And all we can do is wonder why he/she is making such a choice when clearly it is not a good one. Most likely we justify and rationalize it by saying things like “it’s his/her life and so do they wish”, “love is blind” or “I am sure they are going to break up again”. However, on deeper inspection, the real reason may actually be quite different from our understanding of it. Probably it is something to do with his/her comfort zone or he/she may have issues letting go or he/she may be attracting similar partners who illtreat them etc. There may be a multitude of reasons why they end up making the same decision every time, all stemming from sub-conscious patterns of conditioning in childhood. One might argue that if this person at some point decides to break free, that very act can at least be considered an act of free will. Well, this decision of moving on inherently stems from the realization that this pattern of behavior is doing no good; so how can we truly call this will free?

The decisions we make are not simply a result of the evaluation of a factor or two. There are numerous invisible causes in our brain/the supercomputer that does the math and presents us with a solution to our problems. After all, mental states are brain states which in turn are biological or physical states and the physical world is deterministic.

This equation is a good one to understand the causes of probable actions.

Belief + Desire + Temperament = Action

My belief that I should have a cheat day after days of eating healthy + my desire to treat myself with my favorite food + my temperament to enjoy soft, vaped, and spicy food led to my decision of eating momos for breakfast. 

Sources:

Cave, S. (2016, June 10). There's No Such Thing as Free Will. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-will/480750/

Determinism vs Free Will: Crash Course Philosophy #24. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCGtkDzELAI