What is Free Will?

A lot has been discussed about free will here in the past. What does it mean to you? Do you really think we have truly free will, or are we predestined to be who we are? Calvinists believe that God knew before we even existed who would go to Heaven and who wouldn't. There may be a genetic component to the choices we make. The culture we grow up in might have a lot of influence on the choices we make.
What does it mean to have free will?

I think it's one of those things that starts to boil down to a chicken-and-egg question. You get trapped by the words... 'free will', the phrase itself seeks the 'will' as a sort of First Cause of personal actions. We decide our own course of actions. But of course, our own decisions are to a large extent predetermined results of our own personalities, which are in turn products of our birth, upbringing, and on and on... so are your decisions really 'decisions', or simply a predictable and inescapable result of your psychological makeup and the mental and emotional calculation your brain makes in evaluating a situation and appropriate course of action?

One need look no further than certain forums to see the reliable predictability of individual personalities. Is 'free will' an illusion when we're really just slaves to cause-and-effect? Of course, quantum uncertainty relieves some of the predictability, but randomness and 'will' are not the same things. Then what does it really mean to 'decide' something anyway?

John Agnew said:

A lot has been discussed about free will here in the past. What does it mean to you? Do you really think we have truly free will, or are we predestined to be who we are? Calvinists believe that God knew before we even existed who would go to Heaven and who wouldn't. There may be a genetic component to the choices we make. The culture we grow up in might have a lot of influence on the choices we make.
What does it mean to have free will?

Pre-destined by what? If you are talking about anything but biology, what evidence is there for such a pre-destining force or authority?

Yes, to all of the above. Not all are good arguments, but there are good arguments for both views.

I know I get it all the time, if the logic seems contradictory then it isn't true. Still I believe in an all powerful and knowing God, and that our choices matter. I just attribute this to a finite mind cannot comprehend an infinite mind.

I think C.S. Lewis compared God being out of time, as an author of a book is outside of the pages of the book. Time and actions for characters in the book move as expected and with consequences. The author is free to travel anywhere in the book at any time, and is in complete control of the whole mess unknowing to the characters in the book.

Or, Man, like, maybe we are residue riding on energy wave, that happen long ago and far away.

Okay, enough of that, now to freewill...

I think genetics, physical environment at different stages of life development, and social environment all go into the choices we make. We are chemical, and that governs much of who we are and how we will act. Parents and where we were born start the ball rolling, and at least contribute in part to our political and religious affiliations.

It is possible that freewill is not only our own choice, but the chaos that goes on around us. How much control do we really have over our choices? We pretend we do, but the breaking point is probably not that far away. We may not all be president, but I think the truth is we are all just one step away (so to speak) from stealing a loaf of bread to survive.

I don't think that either view point matters in the end, I take what Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's", or Paul, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ...". No matter the rule set, I hope I could/would live my life with compassion and respect for my fellow man.

I think free will is the ability to think through decisions and choose your own path. Your decisions may be somewhat bound and influenced by your genetic makeup, your upbringing, your economic circumstances, etc. But, people can and do choose to change their personal paths during the course of their lives. People do not always act just as predicted. In addition, the opportunities that present themselves to people are somewhat random.