Do Atheists believe in free-will? (choices, choice, evolution, doctrine)

[Willamena]

Originally Posted by little_monkey

Not really. Free will is not conditional to the assumption that everything is illusion.

What is it conditional to?

[little_monkey]

Originally Posted by Willamena

What is it conditional to?

To nothing, otherwise it's not free...

[cheddarsox]

I'm a non-theist, and I can't understand how we have free will. I mean, due to the cause/effect thing, seems like everything is the result of the first cause and things tumbling about and smacking into each other according to Nature's laws.

But it seems (up to a point) that we have fee will and make decisions.

I guess I am agnostic about free will. My mind tells me it's not really possible, but my experience tells me it feels real..at least a third of the time. Truly, the older I get, the less I feel like I have free will, and the less it appears others do...I and they seem more driven than thoughtful.

[little_monkey]

Originally Posted by cheddarsox

I'm a non-theist, and I can't understand how we have free will. I mean, due to the cause/effect thing, seems like everything is the result of the first cause and things tumbling about and smacking into each other according to Nature's laws.

But it seems (up to a point) that we have fee will and make decisions.

I guess I am agnostic about free will. My mind tells me it's not really possible, but my experience tells me it feels real..at least a third of the time. Truly, the older I get, the less I feel like I have free will, and the less it appears others do...I and they seem more driven than thoughtful.

Recent developments in science have blurred the concept of cause/effect. The notion of "force" has been replaced by "interaction". For example, the force between a proton and an electron is thought to be the exchange of photons. So one would be pressed to identify what is the "cause" and what is the "effect".

[Nonpoint]

Free will does exist. At least, it does from my perspective. A person can do whatever he/she wants to, so long as it is rational. For instance, it's irrational to believe that a person can fly without some type of mechanical aid. But outside the spectrum of irrationality, yes, a person can do anything. Consider suicide. A person has the choice to end his/her life. That, to me, is the ultimate display of free will.

[Suraj]

Hi,

I am not really technically atheist, but I was once and some may even argue I still am. So allow me to answer your question:

I sometimes believe in free will and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I do something really random to show that could not possibly have been determined. Let me do something random now. I will say 10 words now at the top of my head:

fire, girdle, monkey, time, space, load, orange blue, juice, green

Those words were completely random, or so they seem! I cannot really think of any connection between fire, girdle and monkey. However, there does seem to be connection between time and space and load. There is definitely a connection between orange, blue, juice and green. I tend to say fire and monkey a lot(I call my dog monkey brains lol) though I don't really say girdle, except maybe I just said girdle because I was trying to be random, so I said something I wouldn't normally say. Thus in all cases there definitely seems to be some determining factor. When I analyse what I say like this that's when I cease believing in free will and believe in determinism.

But it's such a conflict because I cannot give an absolute free will account or an absolute deterministic account. If everything is determined than when I do something completely random is that determined as well? Surely not, no? Perhaps there is both determinism and freedom i.e, what you do is determined largely, but there is still an element of freedom in the present. What do you think?

[Aupmanyav]

Be happy for your element of freedom, as if the universe cares for it.

[likhary]

Even if the force is "in harmony with" human volition, it still binds the volition of each individual to an entity outside of him/her self, even if that outside entity is free.

[lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Bouncing Ball

On the side note, if I kick you between the legs, you'll kick me back, If I do so again, you would do it harder.. It wouldn't take long before I decide it's better to stop kicking you

Yeah but then isn't your free will being curbed by someone else? I mean if they didn't kick you wouldn't you continue to kick them?

[Aupmanyav]

There is no free-will. It is all conditional. We act according to conditions that we may be in. Conditions of our bringing up, education, religious indoctrination; and the conditions in which we are acting, political and social environment, where we think are our benefits and losses, etc. That we are acting of our free-will is an illusion.