Free Will

Free Will

The idea of having free will is a powerful thought to say the very least when examined closely. To have complete freedom as to what you decide to do, when you do it, and how you do it is something people take for granted in modern times. When discussing ideas about freedom of the will and if we as humans possess it or not, there are essentially five positions one can take. The first position is that of Fatalism. Fatalism is the belief that, not all, but some events in your life are inevitable and can’t be avoided even if one possesses free will. Otherwise known as someone’s ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’, these are events that are predetermined for each individual. We hear all the time in the media on how some people are somehow ‘destined for greatness’. Meaning that no matter what actions that person freely chose to do, they would still end out on top for whatever reason because it was their own predetermined ‘fate’. The second position is that of Hard Determinism. This is the belief that there is actually zero freedom of the will and that all events are caused by prior events. This position is what I see a lot of nowadays due to how fast our technology and understanding of our place in the world is growing. This also seems to be one of the more logical ways to look at life but something in my mind is leading me to believe that there is something more out there. The third position is called Soft Determinism, which is said to involve some freedom of the will but not in its entirety. Humans themselves are causing change in the chain of causal events. The way I interpreted this position is that there are concrete predetermined events that are malleable to the way humans evolve in the world. Something like death can be seen as everybody’s ‘fate’ but with rises in awareness about health and the human body itself, we are living different lifestyles that ultimately lead to longer lives. So something