Free Will: Intention interrupts our deterministic reactive nature (PI)
Free will is the notion that a person has the ability to act by one’s own accord without the impediment of necessity or fate.
Though the idea that we humans have free will at first seems obvious, many philosophers argue that we are not free, but rather, everything that we think and do is determined by causes that exist outside of the realm of free will. This concept is fittingly known as determinism and it suggests that all events, including human behavior and moral choice, are determined by previous causes. The theory relates largely to causality, which suggests that the current state of any object or event is determined by prior events and states.
The argument for determinism demonstrates that the notion of free will is not as obvious as it may first appear.
Though I personally agree with the notion of determinism, I believe that there is more to the story and that free will can coexists alongside determinism.
To begin, I would like to point out that the argument for determinism does not distinguish between conscious and unconscious states of thought which in my mind are pertinent to the notion of free will. I argue that although individuals often function by means of reaction which is deterministic in nature, this does not necessarily disprove free will.
Furthermore, the notion of determinism does not address the role of self-awareness and intention, and how such a concepts relate to free will. Therefore, despite the notion of determinism and the fact that humans often make decisions based on their reactions to current event, I argue that humans do in fact have free will when they are in a state of conscious self-awareness and when their decisions are intentional.
As such, I argue that intention interrupts our natural deterministic nature and creates a moment of free will within the individual.
The Law of Causality
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A strong argument for determinism is that actions do not occur without a cause and that every action is a product of the law of causality. As such, each thought within a person’s mind and every behaviour that they engage in, takes place as a result of biological, sensorial, experiential, or situational causes.
Every thought or behavior exists because of necessity.
To demonstrate this concept we could use the example of a monkey choosing between two ripe bananas. In this example, the act of the monkey turning its head toward one banana over another is based on internal and external causes that pre-exist within and around the monkey. For instance, hunger and sensory input as well as the distance and position of the monkey in relation to each of the bananas, determines what banana the monkey will reach for.
This example demonstrates the law of causality in that it shows that the monkey, and organisms in general, often behave by means of reaction to their environment and that every cause creates a reactionary response within an organism’s brain (ie hunger within the monkey, sensory appeal of the banana and distance between the banana and the monkey, cause the monkey to react and reach for one of the pieces of fruit).
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This example of determinism demonstrates that the monkey’s behavior, and probably much of human and animal behavior in general, is reactionary in nature, in that organisms react to cues from their internal and external perceptions. As such, most behavior is determined because it largely follows the law of causality.
However, I personally believe that there is something missing in this example, which in my opinion plays a large role in free will. That is intention. The monkey lacks intention as well as self-awareness of its motives and behavior.
Since the monkey is simply responding in a reactionary way to its surroundings and its internal states, its decisions lack conscious thought and intentionality which suggests that the monkey is making an unconscious decision and its behavior is being determined by prior events and states. However, I argue that if the monkey had intention in its actions, it would be aware of its behavior and its motivations and it would be making a conscious decision and exercising free will.
This idea will be explained further in part II of the article.
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End of Part I
In order to keep this article short I will conclude part one at this point. In part two I will discuss the idea of conscious and unconscious thought and behaviors and how they relate to freewill.
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