“Do you believe humans have free will, or are our actions determined?”
The topic of free will has been debated for centuries, and no one has yet achieved a definitive
answer. However, anyone can find an answer for themselves and try to prove it to others, which is
what most philosophers do.
I do not believe humans have free will and can have true freedom of choice, unaffected by past
events. Because our actions and responses come from our previous experiences, sometimes we are
unaware of how greatly the past has affected us. The past, as in when we were a fetus even. I
choose to stick with Determinism which is the opposite of Libertarianism which states that humans
have free will.
I reason that, when you have a choice, “Do I go left or right on this path.” Considering that you do
not know what each path leads to we can determine how your choice of left or right has been
affected by your past. We might not be aware of that, but what we listen to or what we watch and
learn greatly affects our choices. Something as little as when playing “agree or disagree” in school
and left being disagreed (not correct) and right being agreed (correct) can impact your thinking.
Your upbringing really does have an effect on your choices, no matter how unimpactful the choice
actually is (in case the paths are leading to the same place).
From personal experience, I can observe that I am currently choosing a more artistic path rather
than scientific because when growing up, all our walls were filled with my brother's artworks, and
all the kid's tv shows were about making something. By seeing all of that at the age that I was, I
had a natural interest in pursuing art as well, since most children want to be included in any
activities their siblings are doing (which also depends on the upbringing, so whether you were
close with your siblings or not).
I would like to add that many current factors can affect your current choice, for example, your
hormone levels. They can highly impact the emotion and the intent behind your decision.
To conclude, while we might feel as though we are making independent choices, those choices are
deeply influenced by factors like genetics, upbringing, and environmental conditions. We humans
are very dependent on our past and the circumstances we are in.
Tags: free, left, correct, past