Post by CoolJGS☺ on Mar 14, 2017 21:02:32 GMT
The fact that you are overthinking this is an indication of free will. Most people have other things to think about.
That said, animals are more driven by instinct although they do make choices.
Computers are limited to their programming.
There could be a case made that humans are only acting on what they are capable of doing, but there becomes the added category of complexity. If there are a million options to choose from as a fix set of programming or instinct, then maybe that number is what defines free will.
Free will is basically the ghost in the machine that nobody can describe or explain how it works, or how it interacts with causal factors.
A million options from which to choose means nothing if you are predetermined to hone into one option which suits your preferences, your biases, your circumstances and your train of thought at the time of approaching the choice.
I don't really think genetic make-up counts anymore than physics does.
The primary thing that matters is the number of choices we can make given the limits of the universe. It's not a fair argument to say that because we are not an ever expanding blob that can transform into anything anywhere, that's proof of us not having free will.
No one is predetermined to do anything beyond breathing. Anything else, including required activities like sleep and pooping can even be altered to some extent to fit what is best for us and that's the small stuff.
There are millions of decisions we make that are different than millions of other people and although these may ultimately be the result of a biological stew of various chemicals, it doesn't change the reality that they are indeed choices that are consciously made by the individual.