There's No Such Thing As Free Will
There's No Such Thing As Free Will
April 28, 2021
"A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants."
Arthur Schopenhauer, a prominent philosopher"A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants."
These thoughts have been stuck in my mind while reading Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari. I question how liberalism and freedom are overrated in some societies, which could create chaos and instability in the midst of hardship (eg. the pandemic).
These thoughts have been stuck in my mind while reading Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari. I question how liberalism and freedom are overrated in some societies, which could create chaos and instability in the midst of hardship (eg. the pandemic).
A little bit philosophical, but it's actually all scientific-based.
A little bit philosophical, but it's actually all scientific-based.
Examples:
Examples:
I) More freedom to choose what you want actually makes you less happy, leads to more dissatisfaction in life [2].
I) More freedom to choose what you want actually makes you less happy, leads to more dissatisfaction in life [2].
II) You can do whatever you want, but not feel whatever you want:
II) You can do whatever you want, but not feel whatever you want:
- If you like a person, you don't have the free will to choose not to like him, but you have the freedom to choose to pursue him.
- If you like a person, you don't have the free will to choose not to like him, but you have the freedom to choose to pursue him.
- If you like algebra, you don't have the free will to choose not to like algebra, but you have the freedom to choose to study Mathematics
- If you like algebra, you don't have the free will to choose not to like algebra, but you have the freedom to choose to study Mathematics
- If you're gay, you don't have the free will to choose not to like men, but you have the freedom (in some countries) to pursue a man.
- If you're gay, you don't have the free will to choose not to like men, but you have the freedom (in some countries) to pursue a man.
- If you like Roti Canai, you don't have the free will to choose not to like Roti Canai, but you have the freedom to have it as dinner.
- If you like Roti Canai, you don't have the free will to choose not to like Roti Canai, but you have the freedom to have it as dinner.
Does free will really exist? If it doesn't, most of the contemporary human cultures and systems which are based on free will (voting system, democracy, consumerism, capitalism) would not stand and are deemed to be replaced because they are manipulatable [3].
Does free will really exist? If it doesn't, most of the contemporary human cultures and systems which are based on free will (voting system, democracy, consumerism, capitalism) would not stand and are deemed to be replaced because they are manipulatable [3].
There's no such thing as free will.
There's no such thing as free will.
References
References
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-will/480750/?fbclid=IwAR02gxNOEVULXiQ2HRZRv5TB2OGDiq3CUmk5CCQ0RKZaYeo1tacAJIUDXwA [2] The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7343248/?fbclid=IwAR2njRsNpdym7123yZED2dEdYJLFFBqEyHhRnv0rzv0oG1zrJgJKLxhCMNg
Further Readings
Further Readings
