Do We Have Free Will or Are We Predetermined?

The question of whether we are fundamentally free or determined in our thoughts and actions has been in the middle of philosophical debate for many centuries. This is our take on the subject.

FURTHER READING

“The history of philosophy has been dominated by competing arguments around the ideas of Free Will and Determinism. Simply stated, the issue hangs on whether human beings should be thought of as fundamentally free to choose their actions and mould their lives – or whether they should be deemed as being at heart determined by forces beyond their control, be they fate, biology, politics or class…”

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CREDITS

Produced in collaboration with:

Rachel Lillie

[lifadysi]

"We may be powerless to alter certain events, but we will always be free to choose our attitude towards them." That is if our attitude hasn't already been predetermined.

[paulburger]

I feel like he misses the point of the debate. The question is not wether one is more beneficial, but rather which one is most objectively true.

[michaelwu]

Man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills. - Schopenhauer

[portillamail]

The title of this video should be something like "Believe whatever you want about free will".

[TheXxkornmunkyx]

Do we have free will?
“Of course, we have no choice”

[rea]

Even if we believe in the free will, there will always be some things that are not in our control and there will be things we cannot explain. If we believe in determinism, we can and should still do things, because what is supposed to happen will happen, but this doesn't mean we should just sit on our ass and observe the world. Never mind what our belief system is, doing what we can and letting things be if we cannot change them, that is the best recipe.

[goaliedude]

5:05

"We always remain free to choose our attitude towards them"

We are not even free in that way. You will adopt an attitude that fits in with your past experiences and current state of mind.

[rabbit]

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

[MarioKhoury]

this notification determined my action

[tckteamcoolkats]

What if we’re predetermined to have free will

[ryansmith]

try to know the next thought you’re going to think, the next idea that’ll pop into your head. most things are subconscious or simply out of our control

[True]

The only problem with the aspiration philosophy and why it sometimes goes wrong is because no matter how hard you work to change your life, there will ALWAYS be situations where you NEED ACCEPT from another party, whether its you trying to get a job or trying to get into a relationship with a person. There are some aspects you just can't get through on your own and is thus the biggest obstacle even to the most determined and self-reliable person. But like "The school of life" said, its all about how your attitude is towards these obstacles that will ultimately determine your success in the long run.

[neneklampir]

I have my own Philosophy for this from my own diary which states something like this.

"Human are not free and Impossible to be free. As long as our brain are limited by the skull, space and time, we are unable to be free. All we can do is to pursue a higher consciousness to gain a higher freedom. All we can do is to widening the jail, instead of get out of it"

[alinbarba]

''Man is greater then anything he can say about himself''- Alan Watts

[Atari]

In my introduction to philosophy book by Korman, desires are said to be one of the problems with free will since we can’t control our desires or even desire defeating decisions to change our desires. Baron Hol’bach really talked about free will in that book while Korman provided counter examples to each argument like desire and determinism. The balance between our desires and what we cannot change wasn’t mentioned in the book. But my course is to teach how philosophy works, not ethics so it made sense. A beautiful balanced message ending :)

[Jefff]

I can relate to this my overall life by thinking of when I'm in traffic. There are things I can control such as checking Google Maps for traffic jams and planning my route. But there are things I can't control. Like when every possible route has something going on, which I have had on many occasions. Then when I'm sitting in traffic, I stay calm by reminding myself that I can't control it. Yelling at the cars in front will not make it move. Now this goes out the window when I'm running late and I'm on a road that never has traffic but except now.

[panosm.]

I don't necessarily mind the fact that all your videos are pretty much theoretical all the way but I think that providing us with examples when needed is going to help us understand what you are talking about considerably .
Thank you!

[megamangos]

Out of all these videos, this one Desperately needs a part two. Using an outside view of this question and of Defeatism Vs. Aspiration need to be expanded on even deeper, as I feel the implication that you can and should swap between these two equally useful viewpoints as needed is extremely useful in Mental Therapy and life in general. The concept of being able to let go of the overall question of being right or wrong, and actually using philosophical concepts to fit the situation should be taught everywhere. That's main one goal of philosophy, not to be right and prove others wrong, but to be able to make the best possible choices in life based on your readily available evidence. Because sometimes you'll be happier going your own way like a dog exploring the woods, or you'll be happy being pulled towards something you desire, like a dog to the food bowl.


Lengthy Post Warning:

I think a good place to start and help grasp the deeper concepts here would be to continue the dog and leash analogy and go further into the mental concept of the leash itself.

To create a base point, let's say you're a comatose vegetable with no brain activity. Obviously, you have no control or mind to do so, so the analogy would be that your leash length is zero and tied directly to the cart. From that starting zero, what determines the length of the leash? One such measure could be wealth, thereby allowing you to buy anything and be anywhere. Or would it be simply willpower? (where does that willpower originate? Fame? Social Power? Just an over-inflated ego?) But, this leash also comes with the problems of maintaining that length/wealth/willpower, which will make you beholden to other individuals (Chairmen & Investors, Customers, Family, etc) who deal with your income, life, and outcome of your actions. So is this leash really as long as it appears or do more social contracts shorten it?

Further, if you are held responsible by more people, the analogy could go on to say you have not just one, but many different leashes, each pulling on you at different tensions. So, do we have any actual control of the length of the leash AND the number of leashes around our necks? Sure, you can sever ties with people, gain some extra length by working on financial goals. But some leashes appear unbreakable or stagnant, like trying to run faster than a tiger or trying in vain to make a wealthy/upper class individual favor you over their own kin.

I could go on, but in Summation: What determines the length of the lease? How many leashes are there? And, is it possible to alter any of these leashes at all? Sometimes, we all need a little direction/defeatism and a little freedom/aspiration, and the amounts could change even daily.

[Greatkingrat]

This video isn't a response to the question about whether we actually do have free will or not- it's a response to the question: Is it in our interest to hold the belief that we have free will or not? That is an interesting question, but to me it's a bait and switch.

[REBELLOGIC]

It’s a mixture of the two because every action and thought comes from another and originally .. they are either determined by us, the universe, circumstances or other people