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 • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Philosophy free will free will Internal and External Constraints on Free Will The concept of free will in and of itself is a complex issue with many factors weighing heavily upon it. To say that one is absolutely free in making decisions is shortsighted and naive. For example, environmental, social, biological, and even evolutionary factors greatly effect the way in which we go about choosing a viable option. To be able to make a completely free decision, one would have to live in a vacuum devoid of all external influences. However, one would still have to consider the internal constraints acting upon our will to choose. Our decision making skills are based upon the principle of deliberation, in which one weighs the advantages and disadvantages of all the options, and picks the one that would most benefit us and our needs at that particular point in time. This, however, does not constitute the act of free will, for it is based on one’s feelings. When one thinks that they are deliberating, they take into account only the external factors. For example, when a person breathes, they are not aware of the mental processes that take place. There may also be internal constraints that one does not consider, something imbedded deep in our psyche that one has no control over, thus the fact that people feel as if they are deliberating may often be an illusion. Evolutionary traits, such as the need to procreate and find food, are instinctual attributes that subconsciously motivate us to make choices. This can be seen in the case of a starving man stealing food from another in which to survive. He is faced with the options of starvation or the will to live, and intuitively chooses the continuation of his own mortality over death. The fact that he could of chosen death does not validate the notion of free will, for free will is an action that is uncoerced and is based on one’s options. In essence, a free decision is one that an person makes absent of any interference from any other agent and is made when a possibility of a choice exists. Physically, mentally, and instinctively he was coerced into stealing food for sustainment. Determinism also plays a big role when debating free will. Throughout the steps of deliberation yet again, one may feel that they consider various options, yet their actions may already be determined before a decision is consciously made. Post hypnotic suggestions, past experiences, and even subliminal messages delivered to us through commercial and marketing ads in the media determine our course of action. For example, if a person is constantly bombarded with images of a certain soft drink, that person may well become predisposed to buying it. This constitutes a form of mental control and coercion which negates free will. However, one still believes that they are free because they feel that they successfully deliberated the options and in affect chose the best course of action. When trying to reconcile free will with human nature, two questions arise. If people are so free, then why is the human nature so predictable? If one could choose differently than what one does choose, then why can we, as a society, predict what others will do? For example, if a person left a bag of money in a busy park, it would be safe to assume that by the next day the money would be gone. This shows that even though there are small idiosyncrasies, the over all human character is very predictable. The person did it because of his fundamental choice of character. Our decisions are based, to some degree, upon our character, and are very methodical. For someone who has a less ambitious character it is a given that that person will give up sooner than someone who has a very motivated character. Socially, a person is pressured by social norms and imperatives in decision making. Our own judicial system adjudicates what is acceptable and unacceptable, thus unfairly limiting our free will. Citing the example of the man stealing food to eat puts at odds the option of eating and being healthy and the condemnation of our society and courts. The ever present label of criminal and the ostracism from society duly affects the path of action that one may take. The law, media, our family structure, all dictate how we act, what choices we make, and whether or not we execute those decisions. One is indoctrinated from an early age, what is right and wrong in our society. However, the norms valued by one culture can differ from the norms of another. Overall, the plausibility of free will can be proven in abstract. However, when looked at in everyday situations, free will in its purest form is an impossibility. Bibliography: Word Count: 795
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