Free Will: The Philosophy Referring to Choice
Written by Michael Mangin
Published on November 23, 2010

April 3, 1973, a young man walks down the streets in New York with a strange object in his hand. Dr. Martin Cooper, general manager of Motorola's Communications Systems Division, places a call to his rival at AT&T's Bell Labs. New Yorkers stand and gawk at the sight of a cordless telephone as Dr. Cooper crosses the street making several phone calls. This moment in history marks a revolutionary point for culture around the world. Within ten years, the "DynaTAC" telephone reached the market at a cost of $3,500. The telephone inhabited the size of a brick and weighed in at sixteen ounces. Today, cell phones have become popular with nearly 4.6 billion people–and still climbing–using mobile phone communications worldwide (PhysOrg.com).

As a result, the idea that 4.6 billion people using cell phones based on one man's work allows one to ponder, "Could I make the choice to call my friend or text message them while on the move had it not been for actions of Dr. Martin Cooper?" In order for one to somewhat understand the very intriguing philosophical term, he must first know how to define the subject. Free will exists only if actions of a person occur "on purpose" by controlling the action entirely ("Free Will" 360). Humans appear to have free will and act accordingly when they control the actions, thoughts and events that occur in their lives; however, can free will exist justifiably? The answer to such a question puzzles philosophers for over two hundred years (O'Connor). The idea that philosophical minds bicker over remains in the existence between freedom of choice, and the will to make that choice.

Furthermore, with the idea of control comes the idea of determinism. Determinism means that every event in one's life undergoes predetermination by previous existing conditions ("Free Will" 500). When determinism occurs, free will seems illusionary since every decision, choice, or power–abided by previously destined deeds–eliminates personal free will. In the life of an individual, external constraints occur that control the options he or she may have to choose from in such subjects as the religion he or she follows, the government he or she lives under, and the history he or she experiences.

Meanwhile, religious aspects connected to an individual's life greatly influence the choices and "will" to make those choices. Thereupon, moral standards and beliefs affect the behavior of the individual who believes in them. For example, one chooses not to kill because killing resembles a moral wrong. This influence in one's life changes the events and "will" to make the choice to kill someone, which thereby alters the event entirely by altering the options one chooses. In predestination, God preordains all events and influences that occur in one's life, which then commits one to divine determinism ("Free Will" 361). The character of an individual forms by heredity and the environment which, in turn, act as external forces on the individual. With this, the theory that God created the earth and all living things on earth eliminates free will since he allowed humanity opportunity to make choices that otherwise would not exist. Philosophers deliberate on the theory that, "We are puppets with God 'pulling the strings'" ("Free Will" 361). If God preordains our futures, then the choices of man remain irrelevant. No matter which religious denomination one chooses, or if one declines to follow religion at all, the very aspects in religion affect everyone's lives, from young to old, black to white, and good to evil. These influences form the "will" to make the decisions that humanity makes.

Simultaneously, everyone lives under some form of government in which they must act and behave in certain ways. Some aspects in society influence a person's decision through different methods. In addition, the government creates laws that place restraints on society and the actions of people. Likewise, the law limits one's free will by eliminating certain options and decreasing one's willingness to choose what choices to make. Another instance occurs when education controls the "will" to make certain choices by affecting the likelihood of an event. If a child wants to become a lawyer, then he must first gain the education needed to obtain that career. With this in mind, media and technology affect how we communicate and how to interpret information. Media does this because, "Television and newspapers are commercial entities. They must work to keep attention. If they lose readers, they lose revenue" (Lessig 43). These government entities all work together in some way or another to reduce the effect of free will.

Finally, all historical events have actions, decisions, and events that preceded them, thus causing them to occur. That is to say, when historical events occur, then those events determine human actions. For example, if Kennedy and Kruschev had not ended the Cuban Missile Crisis peacefully, most of humanity may not have existed today. Therefore, global events stimulate every decision one produces, making the capability of free will illusionary. In the same way, one's personal histories that occur in his or her life alter how one makes a choice and what choices exist in the future. Comparatively with all historical events, current external entities affect decisions. A young boy who lives in a box aside the Comfort Inn cannot make the decision to buy the new clothes he needs for school or the food he needs to survive. The external forces have already affected his "will" to do so. No one can effectively control these types forces, which thus makes everyone a slave to the "will" of history.

On the whole, the idea pertaining to free will acquires widely studied and questioned aspects; however, the forces that occur naturally greatly affect the choices one makes. This makes the impossibility for anyone to effectively have a free will. The list can go on and on into and endless line until the beginning of time occurred; however, "Today, the focus of the debate over human responsibility is on the capacity to control one's thoughts and actions, rather than on the metaphysical presence or absence of a non-physical entity with will" (Carroll). Carroll implies that the idea concerning free choice vanquishes free will; the choice to decide which path to choose. Each action characterized by an individual always remains the consequence of a prior action which the agent cannot control. Psychological and physical forces combine to act as the "will" connected with all individuals. The existence to willfully choose what happens in life is nonexistent, but one can have the choice to alter the outcome based on "will." "People and their wills aren't disempowered when we explain them in terms of antecedent causes. Just as my antecedents, genetic and environmental, had the causal power to create me in all my glory, I too have causal power to influence the world" ("Don't Forget About Me").

Works Cited:

Carrol, Robert . "Free Will." Sceptics Dictionary (2010): n. pag. Web. 1 Oct 2010.
<http:// www.skepdic.com/freewill.html>.

"Denying the Little God of Free Will: The Next Step for Atheists?." Naturalism n. pag. Web. 1 Oct 2010. <http://www.naturalism.org/atheism.htm#littlegod>.

"Don't Forget About Me: Avoiding Demoralization by Determinism." Naturalism n. pag. Web. 1 Oct 2010. <http://www.naturalism.org/demoralization.htm>.

"Five billion people to use mobile phones in 2010: UN." PhysOrg.com (2010): n. pag. Web. 1 Oct 2010. <http://www.physorg.com/news185467439.html>.

"Free Will." Collier's Encyclopedia. 10. P.F. Collier,L.P., 1995. Print.

"Free Will." The World Book Encyclopedia. 7. Chicago, IL: World book, Inc., 2005. Print.

Lessig, lawrence. Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. New York. NY: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2004. 43,116-125. Print.

"Martin Cooper - Inventor Of The Cellphone." Cellular Online (2006): n. pag. Web. 1 Oct 2010. <http://cellular.co.za/cellphone_inventor.htm>.

O'Connor, Timothy. "Free Will." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Fall 2008 Edition. Stanford, CA: The Metaphysics Research Lab, 2005. Web. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/>.

 

Originally written for Ms. Ruttum's Composition 1020 College level class at Coronado High School