Our concept of free will could all be an illusion, new research suggests.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
Suuuuure. I smell a rat!

Smell happens - 'you' do not smell 'something'.

The assumption is that there is a 'you' doing 'smelling' - there is no 'you' that does!! Everything is simply just happening - including seeing, hearing, thoughts, sensation. Stories also happen about a 'someone' who can do.

'You' smelling 'something' makes two - as soon as there is the illusion of twoness there will be unnecessary suffering. When the seeming two become one the kingdom shall be revealed.

I can give you free will, but it will cost you a buck. Please deposit the buck into my ATS account. Oh, yeah, I don't have an account for money so I guess it is free.

We are conditioned from birth to fit into society, that shapes our consciousness and every decision we make. That means we do not and never will have free will. If our parents were chaotic in nature and conditioned us to not believe in society, then we are also conditioned and have no free will. This is all interpreted in our subconscious, our beliefs govern our will.

Boy, if I could only get a buck from everyone who believes me, I might be able to go get breakfast at McDs.

originally posted by: rickymouse
I can give you free will, but it will cost you a buck. Please deposit the buck into my ATS account. Oh, yeah, I don't have an account for money so I guess it is free.

We are conditioned from birth to fit into society, that shapes our consciousness and every decision we make. That means we do not and never will have free will. If our parents were chaotic in nature and conditioned us to not believe in society, then we are also conditioned and have no free will. This is all interpreted in our subconscious, our beliefs govern our will.

Boy, if I could only get a buck from everyone who believes me, I might be able to go get breakfast at McDs.

And of course if someone wanted to sabotage the right to make your own choices, they'd have to start by convincing people they don't even know what a choice is and build an entire dictatorship on that foundation.

a reply to: cuckooold

If God has a plan we have no free will

If God gives us free will he has no plan

If God gives us the illusion of free will, it's all part of his plan

You have the free will to believe you have no free will.

That Free Will might not exist is a concept too scary for most to even contemplate. Everyone wants to feel they are in full control of their lives and that every "choice" they make has meaning.

If we consider Life as one gigantic Maze, it makes more sense. There is only one entry point and one exit point. How you reach that exit point after starting at the entry point might seem like a series of choices, but in reality there is only one route if you are to exit once you have entered.

A relevant link for those interested

I do not compute. Every thread I read i make a choice whether or not to reply, I cannot predict it, it sometimes deals with how interested I am but usually it is just how lazy I am feeling in that moment.

And how can you say there is no free will when this test only applies to short term decisions? I mean people make unpredictable relationship decisions everyday back n forth. Also, a lot of sperm donors make the #ty decision of running out and not being a father instead of manning up everyday.

I do not know. Perhaps this is wishful thinking. I can see how this logic is certainly true and applies to most situations. But I cant see it for ALL decisions.

People choose to spontaneously help others everyday do they not? Even people who do not regularly do so.

I am choosing to leave my home of 20+ years and move to the South this Summer. It would be much easier to stay here in so many ways. But i am choosing otherwise.

This is all interpreted in our subconscious, our beliefs govern our will. 

I do not see how the above translates into no free will. We choose our beliefs do we not? Some people allow their beliefs to evolve over time. Others do not.

originally posted by: TinfoilTP
You have the free will to believe you have no free will.

'You' do not have anything at all.
There is no 'you' separate to what is happening - that is the illusion.

It might seem as if there is a 'you' and 'life' - there isn't. There is only ever what is happening.

originally posted by: lightedhype
People choose to spontaneously help others everyday do they not?

Helping people happens spontaneously - so does everything else.

Clicking the link will happen or it won't - hearing the explanation of how 'there is no one doing anything' will happen or it won't.

originally posted by: lightedhype
I do not compute. Every thread I read i make a choice whether or not to reply, I cannot predict it, it sometimes deals with how interested I am but usually it is just how lazy I am feeling in that moment.

But is your ability and tendency to reply there by random chance alone? Are your type of mood, how interested you are in the topic and how motivated you are feeling all things you can control? And can they not influence your decisions?

a reply to: Itisnowagain

That is ludicrous. You and him are two seperate people posting different things on the same website right now, no?

He is not you. They might reply. They might not.

Eta: Seeing the irony now. Ill watch the video.

originally posted by: TinfoilTP
You have the free will to believe you have no free will.

Does a young child have the choice to believe or disbelieve in Santa Claus?

If free will doesn't exist, then why does it take me so long to figure out what I want when I go shopping?

originally posted by: TzarChasm
If free will doesn't exist, then why does it take me so long to figure out what I want when I go shopping?

Your brain has been conditioned to believe that the longer you take to make a decision, the seemingly more free you are to choose, therefore you subconsciously force yourself to take long so that you feel you are in control and making the decision.

In reality, your decision has already been made and you are only postponing the inevitable.

Well if I didn't choose to post this, who did?

My interpretation:

Free will can only exist when there is NO external influence, ever.

And/Or:

To have free will, you need to have all-encompassing knowledge and no restrictions, such as physics/quantum mechanics.

And/Or:

We are all slaves to our past experiences and learning...

So:

Fine. I'll concede that "if I HAVE to."

But that just seems like a debater's way of winning an argument/discussion by pointing out that there are very few, if any, absolutes...

So I choose to believe that while TECHNICALLY correct, that is still BS...

Free will, to the average person, imo, means you can react to circumstances presented to you, how you see fit, at the time, whether influenced, or not.

The whole "no free will exists" is so defeatist... Just admitting you are a sheep, is it not?

originally posted by: Shiloh7
a reply to: Rextiberius

Vey interesting reply. I agree that our lives are lived in accordance with the cosmos which so fascinated and occupied the thoughts of ancient peoples. With the Kingdom within us, one could almost say we are inside-out except we don't realise it...

Wow, you've hit the nail on the head! Congrats!

"The Universe is worked and guided from within outwards. As above so it is below, as in heaven so on earth, and man, the microcosm and miniature copy of the Macrocosm, is the living witness to this Universal Law and to the mode of its action." - H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

originally posted by: TinfoilTP
You have the free will to believe you have no free will.

'You' do not have anything at all.
There is no 'you' separate to what is happening - that is the illusion.

It might seem as if there is a 'you' and 'life' - there isn't. There is only ever what is happening.

And you have the free will to think that too.

a reply to: BigBrotherDarkness

originally posted by: Discotech
a reply to: cuckooold

If God has a plan we have no free will

If God gives us free will he has no plan

If God gives us the illusion of free will, it's all part of his plan

You personally can choose not to be a part of God's plan.

But God's plan will happen anyway, through other means not involving you.

Is that an illusion of free will? Doesn't seem like it.