Questions about free will...?

This is a very good question and I did a little research to help me answer it. Before I get into what I read let me tell you that you are asking a question that has been pondered by philosophers for generations. What determines who we are? Do we do it or is it dictated by our surroundings? I don't know if we'll ever know the answer to that.

"Instinct provides a response to external stimuli, which moves an organism to action, unless overridden by intelligence"

Instincts can take generations to develop and can be influenced by learning, environment, and natural principles. I believe that there are some things that will come naturally to every species but humans have the advantage of having a thought process that can halt the instinct process. In times of anger one may react negatively and do or say things that they might regret later, in these situations we are controlled by our instincts. I believe that in certain situations our instincts can help us survive. So yes perhaps sometimes our instincts may make us react differently then if we took the time to think it through. I would say its all up to the individual.

I'm inclined to think that man has instincts but has the ability to decide whether to follow those instints or go in a different direction, hence a choice made without coercion. How often do people run into dangerous situations when instinct would demand self preservation but people make the choice to help others. Consider the firefighters on 9/11. That wasn't just training that sent them into the towers. It was a choice.

I've seen people run into burning buildings to get someone out before they burned. Yet, instinct would say to get to safety.

Instinct would say to feed yourself and make sure all your needs were met first, yet many make the choice to sacrifice some of what they have to help others who have less than themselves.

Everything has freewill that is animal or man. But we make different choices based on different things. Animals CAN go against their instincts when we condition them. (EG: If my dog pisses on the floor then he knows Ill punish him)

Humans also act on instinct at times but most of the time we act of thought, reason, emotion, and conditioning as well.

Instincts are what nature tells you to do, it is like a mechanism. Freewill is a state of being. Its like comparing apples to oranges.

Instinct sometimes does play a big part in our choices but i believe given the human capacity for thought and feelings that we are primarily guided by either 2 with respect to the persons personality. (thinkers and feelers)

Yes we do have total freewill with respect to Gods purposes and will. We also have something ever so crucial called "self-determination" which is not only having that freewill, but being responsible for the way we use it!

Biologically, morals are an instintual recognition of our need for society in order to survive. The rules and laws that let us live together and our compassion for other humans has a biological function. Humans need to live together, it is less an issue now with the destruction of most wild places but a solitary human doesn't stand a chance on the Serengeti. We need to live together so we have morals, compassion, sympathy and socail structure that will allow us to do that without competing destructively over resources (in small groups like towns, get to countries and that starts to fall apart). We really don't have free will, we are simply trying to make it, we make decisions based on what seems to be the best answer for us and for those we care about at the time. Its more instinctual than even I would like to admit.

The problem with free will is human nature. Free will is not talking about whether you're going to get a Big Mac or a Fish Fillet... it is talking about whether or not you will do what is right... but given a free choice without any hint of God men would always choose evil. For example, the only thing that keeps me from stealing from my neighbor is the fact that my conscience says it's wrong... on the other hand I could make a lot of money easily, without much risk. If I had no conscience, of course it would be logical to rob her.

Yes it is true that all life responds to stimulas (Instincts) however because of the complex human brain we are capable of making choices outside of direct stimulas responce.

However when it comes to religion I think a lot of the choices people make are based more on this primal instinct / responding to stimulas. Reason being the choice is not really between a God or a Satan but Heaven or Hell. Religion has turned that choice from one of looking at the moral character of both to one of choose which you want pleasure or pain.

This was done because the desire to avoid pain instinctive! Religion doesn't want you thinking for yourself but rather blindly accepting the ideas that they want you to have!

free will has nothing to do with god or with heavens...

Man is condemned to make a choice in every second of his life. Some choices are good for him and some arent. Whether he is fully aware of the consequences of his choices is more important than whether he has free will or not. He may sincerely think that the option he chooses is good for him and for mankind but it may come out the other way around. At such cases he cant be held responsible. The problem is that most of our choices are made in full ignorance of the consequences.

Free will is what some are going to dispute on religious grounds. There are those who believe everything you do is "written" or somehow a destiny that cannot be changed.

But look at it this way: YOU, could CHOOSE to get up in the morning, brush your teeth, fix your hair, get dressed and go to your job or school. OR, you could CHOOSE to forget the hygiene, grab a weapon, and go over to your neighbor's house and kill him/her.

God will NOT intervene, nor will any one else. God didn't intervene during the WTC collapses or the 2004 Tsunami that killed 270,000 innocent people. God, although important to many people, does NOT prevent you from making the free choice to live a meaningful life, or doing something that will land you in jail.

Only you can decide what to do with your life. That sounds like free will to me! Many people who subscribe to the "I can't do anything myself because it was my destiny" theory just haven't been able to decide what to do with themselves yet. You could say, blaming their miserable lives on something external, like a writing or "words" is a good cop out to let them feel they are not really at fault for their deeds.

Only you can decide what you want to do and whether it will be acceptable or not. That is free will too.

I understand what you are saying but man's "instincts" are guided by a higher thought process than animals. We do not run on pure instinct alone we make decisions based on many different cognitive and spiritual factors. So no, human "instinct" is not the same as free will.

Humans brains are approx. 25% "hard wired", animals approx. 75%. The remaining is left available for learning and training. That's the statistical biological answer.

The logical answer is in 2 parts...

"Consider how all other phenomenal existence and beings are captives of nature. The sun, that colossal center of our solar system, the giant stars and planets, the towering mountains, the earth itself and its kingdoms of life lower than the human, -- all are captives of nature except man. No other created thing can deviate in the slightest degree from obedience to natural law. The sun in its glory and greatness millions of miles away is held prisoner in its orbit of universal revolution, captive of universal natural control. Man is the ruler of nature. According to natural law and limitation he should remain upon the earth, but behold how he violates this command and soars above the mountains in aeroplanes. He sails in ships upon the surface of the ocean and dives into its depths in submarines. Man makes nature his servant; harnesses the mighty energy of electricity for instance and imprisons it in a small lamp for his uses and convenience. He speaks from the east to the west through a wire. He is able to store and preserve his voice in a phonograph. Though he is a dweller upon earth he penetrates the mysteries of starry worlds inconceivably distant. He discovers latent realities within the bosom of the earth, uncovers treasures, penetrates secrets and mysteries of the phenomenal world and brings to light that which according to nature's jealous laws should remain hidden, unknown and unfathomable. Through an ideal inner power man brings these realities forth from the invisible plane to the visible. This is contrary to nature's law."

(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 236)

"Answer. -- Fate is of two kinds: one is decreed, and the other is conditional or impending. The decreed fate is that which cannot change or be altered, and conditional fate is that which may occur. So, for this lamp, the decreed fate is that the oil burns and will be consumed; therefore, its eventual extinction is a decree which it is impossible to alter or to change because it is a decreed fate. In the same way, in the body of man a power of life has been created, and as soon as it is destroyed and ended, the body will certainly be decomposed, so when the oil in this lamp is burnt and finished, the lamp will undoubtedly become extinguished.

But conditional fate may be likened to this: while there is still oil, a violent wind blows on the lamp, which extinguishes it. This is a conditional fate. It is wise to avoid it, to protect oneself from it, to be cautious and circumspect. But the decreed fate, which is like the finishing of the oil in the lamp, cannot be altered, changed nor delayed. It must happen; it is inevitable that the lamp will become extinguished."

(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 243)