Is True Free Will Possible,or Are We Always Influenced by External Factors?

Discussion in 'Philosophy and Religion' started by Native Vee, Jun 7, 2025.

  1. Native Vee

    Native Vee Supporters HipForums Supporter

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    Whadda ya think dues??

    I have been thinking a lot about the concept of free will and wheather it truly exists.

    Every decision we make seems to be influenced by our upbringing,environment,biology and even subconscious biases. (Ah man!!)

    Can we ever make a completely independent choice,or are all our actions the result of prior causes?

    What do philosophical perspectives like determinism,compatibilism or existentialism say about this?
     
    Native Vee, Jun 7, 2025
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  3. Beatniks

    Beatniks Members

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    That’s a great thought.
    I don’t think there’s any one answer to this question, there’s too many variables.
    One answer (mine at this time without putting much thought into it) is unless you’ve been completely isolated for your full adult life, it’s nearly impossible to not be influenced by something from your past memories.
    I think children are more likely to act free of influence since most haven’t been exposed to many people and the everyday hypnotic spell that marketers cast upon on us each and every day.
     
    Beatniks, Jun 7, 2025
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  5. Toker

    Toker Lifetime Supporter

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    What if I say there are no real EXTERNAL factors? They only seem external. Maya plays tricks with perception.
     
    Toker, Jun 7, 2025
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  7. Etherea

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    I think not re the maya concept. We may perceive the same thing differently as individuals but the fact that we are perceiving them means that we are probably and/or possibly influenced by them.
     
    Etherea, Jun 7, 2025
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  9. Beatniks

    Beatniks Members

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    So is it possible to see, hear, taste, feel anything and because of our cognitive memory not be influenced to some degree?
    That’s kind of the whole point of learning isn’t it?
     
    Beatniks, Jun 8, 2025
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  11. scratcho

    scratcho Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    Wonder how Helen Keller would have answered that.
     
    scratcho, Jun 8, 2025
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  13. LadySkater

    LadySkater Members

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    best comment on this thread
     
    LadySkater, Jun 8, 2025
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  15. LadySkater

    LadySkater Members

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    If i can walk out my house butt naked while screaming the lyrics to let it go from frozen thats free will and if it isnt then i dont know what is XD
     
    LadySkater, Jun 8, 2025
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  17. Whirlwind83

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    Why wouldn't it be? We're not dolls. While there are some external factors, up to even the most dire and extreme circumstance, we have free will. I'll never understand why people think we don't?
     
    Whirlwind83, Jun 8, 2025
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  19. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    If there is no free will then everything you do has all ready been predetermined and you are not the agent of your own behavior.
    You can not make any choices at all as all decisions are governed by your past behavior and all historical occurrences that preceded your existence.
    Of course this takes us back to a first cause which then determined the entire history of the world.
    And so no action can be based on past learning.

    However, if there is free will, then you are free to do anything you want at any time with out any past influences and nothing is determined by anything else.
    No action is ever determined by any other action.
    What you learned or experienced in the past does not determine what you do in the present.
    And so no action can be based on past learning.

    But, if some of our actions are predetermined due to our present situation but others are not, then being poor due to predetermined causes may lead us to steal, but free will would allow us to choose not to steal.
    And so actions can be based on past learning but the distinction between determinism and free will becomes meaningless as we can not find any method to tell which action was predetermined and which resulted from free will.

    My conclusion:
    The question is meaningless as it supposes an individual ego that is separate from the rest of reality.
    To have free will presupposes an independent person free to act without any outside influences. Determinism presupposes an independent person acted upon exclusively by outside influences.
    Both suppose an individual ego that is separate from the rest of reality which is an impossibility.
     
    MeAgain, Jun 8, 2025
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  21. Native Vee

    Native Vee Supporters HipForums Supporter

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    Ya I dont know if we have it or not..... If Phychics can sense stuff,doesnt it mean everything is already written and we are just pawns moving thru time??
     
    Native Vee, Jun 8, 2025
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