The illusion of free will

I had two paragraphs here at the beginning, but they were “unretrievable” by the app. I like to give context. Maybe too much.

I had read a blog about choosing to heal. I agree with their point, but I’m also opinionated about Free Will. So choosing is a “trigger” word for me. I was driving to New Mexico and dictated the original version.

Now I’m sitting in my hotel room editing and wanted to go ahead and publish.

When I was a teenager, I read about Albert Einstein‘s thought experiments. He came up with his insights about the universe while thinking about the implications of things moving and lights shining. I had read something about free will and it got me thinking what would happen if we could turn back Time like rewinding a movie?

So for a good thought experiment you need a simple premise. Let’s say you’re at an ice cream shop and before you are 30-onederful flavors. Which one will you choose? That doesn’t matter. What does it mean if free will is real? That’s what matters.

It means I could’ve chosen any flavor. I am free to choose. I have agency.

So if I was able to turn back time to just before I chose say Mint Chip, it should be possible for me to choose Butter Pecan this time because the Agency that chooses hasn’t made the choice yet.

But why would I? If everything else is the same, I would make the same choice. So if I’m always going to choose Mint Chip, I’m destined to. I feel like I could choose something different, but it’s always going to be Mint Chip. No choice. No free will.

Also if everything else is just following the same physical laws as everything, including me, So where does this Agency come in with FreeWill? It’s not there. It’s an illusion. It just seems like it, it just appears this way, because of the way our human brains work.

Another nail in the coffin for Free Will is the scientific evidence collected that shows many of your decisions are made, and detectable by others, before you consciously make them. A human brain makes decisions then the conscious mind becomes aware of it.

The implications of the acceptance that FreeWill is an illusion are far-reaching. It would impact many of our social institutions with a new wave of compassion. Everyone does the best they can. Most of the differences between people come down to things beyond their control.

If someone needs help they should get it. The ones with the most money should pay for most of it. That’s humanity.

Prisoners are not getting the punishment they deserve. They are getting much worse. They should be seen as humans that are dangerous to themselves and others. Their lives should be respectfully restricted until we figure out what’s wrong and fix it.