Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous free will free will A definition of free will, as we have seen, can be misunderstood and easily distorted. For the purpose of this essay free will, will be defined as the ability to chose, express ones feelings, emotions, or actions unconditionally. From the first time I understood the meaning of what free will was, I believed in it 100%. I had the right and ability to choose what ever I liked. Not only did I believe that I had free will but if I ever heard otherwise I felt that the other person did not have a clear understanding of what free will was, and as a result I could demonstrate a fairly strong persuasive argument opposing anything but the existence of free will. I would illustrate a situation in which there seemed to be no choice. For example, a gun to ones head, there seems to be no option but to do as the person with the gun says. Although it would be in your best interest to do so, and therefore survive, everybody no matter what they say, still have the option to disobey and be killed. The only thing that was difficult to argue was the existence of God’s effect on free will. I would accept such an answer partly because I was never really exposed to God until about 6th grade and therefore I could not relate to the beliefs of that person. About 2 weeks ago my thoughts towards the reality of free will ceased to exist. Everything that I had previously thought did not mean a thing; I was given a new perspective that grasped me almost instantaneously. Robert Blatchford, author of “The delusion of Free Will” provided me with a new perspective that has taken over my thinking on free will. Blatchford states, “the will is not free, and that it is ruled by heredity and environment.” All it took, were those words, and after a minor discussion and some introspective thought, I was convinced. As a result of further pondering, I found that even my decision in the beginning, that I had free will was based on my environment. I grew up in a household where I was taught that I was and will always be free. I also never had any religious affiliation within my first 8 years of schooling, which might have influenced me to think differently. The illustration of a gun to ones head is also rooted within the environment of others as well as my own. We can assume that the majority of people would want to live in that situation and therefore follow what is being asked of them. Now is that there free will? I don’t think so. The fact that they choose to live is based on their enjoyment of life and there lessons that they have been taught by their upbringing, this is their environment. The same would be true on an extreme end. Somebody may make the decision to not obey and sacrifice his or her life because of extreme misery and discontent. Furthermore, the reason for the unhappiness may be a result of heredity. The victim’s mother could have used drugs, or something similar that which had an effect on her child. God plays an interesting role in this explanation of free will. Presently, after having about 7 years of religious education I feel like I am educated enough to speak of God. I believe that people can be affected by God within there decision making and often have God make the choice for them. For example, the choice to remain celibate until marriage, that is God’s wishes and therefore in a sense he is making the decision. For me, no matter how free people think they are because of their belief in God, the religious affiliation that people have is rooted within their environment, and thus cannot be considered free will. W. T. Stace can exemplify another example of why I believe I do not have free will, in the essay “The problem of Free Will”. Stace argues that the “problem of free will” is the misunderstanding of the correct definition of the term, and once the correct definition is found then proof of free will can result from it. I feel my definition or the correct one if there is such a thing, does not really determine whether I have free will or not because the definition that I use and speak from comes as a result of my environment. The same goes for Stace, if he does understand the true meaning of the term, it does not matter because it came as a result of his research, which would be his environment, and thus everything that he says according his definition has originated as a consequence of his environment. As a result of studying free will my views have changed significantly. With the help and enlightenment of Robert Blatchford and his essay “The Delusion of Free Will”, I have shown that no matter the situation, the roots of what is being presented can be found in the person’s environment and heredity. My ability to choose unconditionally no longer exists, but rather a sort of perimeter has been set out, and I will never be able to cross over that. Along the same lines, I was not aware of it, but now I realize that I have subconscious restrictions that determine the way I choose to live my life. Not only am I aware of its existence but also I am able to analyze why, in the past I made the decisions I did, to get me to this point in my life. Bibliography: none Word Count: 940
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