When you clicked on this article, did you choose to do so of your own free will, or was it bound to happen? Are you truly in control of your actions, or are you simply following a predetermined path? This question of free will has been debated from ancient philosophers to modern neuroscientists for centuries and will be explored in this article.
Defining Consciousness
Consciousness, as defined by English philosopher John Locke in the 17th century, is “the perception of what passes in a man’s own mind.” In the same period, French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes went further, claiming that the very act of thinking proves our existence. The phrase “Cogito, ergo sum”—“I think therefore I am” was coined by Descartes as the one indubitable truth. Descartes argued that even if an omnipotent creature were trying to trick his mind into thinking that he exists, a mind to trick must exist. Therefore, he is. For Descartes, the ability to think was the fundamental proof of our existence. However, if we are conscious and therefore exist, do we necessarily have control over the thoughts that arise in our minds, or are we simply the product of predetermined forces?
While Descartes and Locke emphasize the mind as the primary source of perception and knowledge, modern science suggests that our thoughts might not be as independent as we think. Countless studies have found that factors from our social environment to the neuroplasticity of our brain affect thoughts and mental states, implying that our thoughts may be more influenced by external forces than traditionally assumed.
How External Factors Shape Consciousness
Brain neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to form new neural connections and strengthen existing ones, affecting our cognitive skills and development. Our experiences through critical stages of brain development also impact cognitive growth (the improvement of skills like reasoning, memory, and problem-solving.) For instance, exposure to traumatic events during childhood can cause long-term psychological challenges.
Furthermore, under the right conditions, people can be led to believe they consciously intended an action when they had no control over their movements. For instance, under hypnosis, people may believe they are making decisions on their own and even contrive reasons for their actions when asked, while the hypnotist is actually controlling their actions.
Moreover, large amounts of research have found that current body states, such as hunger, tiredness, and hormones, heavily influence conscious decisions and needs.
Suppose we rely on Descartes’ statement that because we think we are real and conscious. However, knowing external factors influence our thoughts and assuming our actions stem from said (influenced and predetermined) thoughts, do we really have free will? Philosophers have long debated this question, with four main theories prevailing.
Theories of Free Will:
Determinism vs. Indeterminism
Determinism is the theory that everything that happens in the world, any thought you have or action you do, has already been determined and cannot be changed. Renowned physicist Albert Einstein was a firm determinist, claiming in a 1929 interview with the Saturday Evening Post that “everything is determined[…]by forces over which we have no control” for “we all dance to an invisible tune, intoned in the distance by a mysterious player.” In this view, even our thoughts and desires are not truly free; he echoed philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer’s belief that while we can act according to our desires, those desires are driven by an irrational force he called “will.” Essentially, even if we can choose to do what we want, we can’t choose what we want. Nietzsche also rejected free will in the traditional sense, claiming it an “illusion” as human actions are influenced by a “will” beyond our conscious control.
Compatibilism
Compatibilism is a sort of “middle-ground,” positing that free will and determinism are compatible. For a classic compatibilist, free will is the ability to do what one wants. So, even if every event is predetermined, that doesn’t mean you don’t have free will. If you are unencumbered and doing what you want, then you have free will. Aristotle reinforces this claim by discerning humans as rational beings capable of making their own choices. He asserts that “our dispositions are not voluntary in the same sense that our actions are,” but humans are still able to choose their actions within what is possible for them to do.
Libertarianism
Libertarians (not to be confused with political philosophy) believe that the universe is indeterministic and that we have true free will—that some choices are entirely up to us and not determined by past events. However, libertarianism is vulnerable to the “intelligibility” objection, which points out that if our actions are completely random, we still don’t have control over them. One of the earliest defenders of libertarianism was German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who attempted to overcome the intelligibility objection by claiming humans are free when their actions are governed by reason. In a libertarian view, nothing is determined and we have complete free will.
Similarly, indeterminism asserts that some events occur completely randomly, without a deterministic cause. This theory is, to some extent, scientifically supported by research in quantum physics, particularly Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and quantum mechanics’ probabilistic nature, which suggests events at the quantum level are unpredictable. Thus, this raises further questions about the nature of free will: if some events are random, does that allow for genuine choice?
Conclusion: Do We Have Free Will?
Like most major philosophical questions, there is no straightforward answer to the question of free will and consciousness. But perhaps that’s the point: in a world full of uncertainty, it’s the pursuit of understanding that matters most. So the pursuit to understand this question remains: do you control your choices, or are you being controlled?
