Free Will: Essential, Even If Nonexistant

Some of the Youtube videos I watched today touched on ideas of determinism and the illusion of free will. According to some scientists and philosophers, there is no such thing as free will. In their minds, everything that happens, including everything we do, is part of a physical process that began at the big bang and will continue unalterably until the end of the universe. To them, the whole world and everyone in it is like a chain of dominoes, with each piece falling as a direct result of the fall of each piece that fell before it. The dominoes don't choose whether or not they'll fall and hit other pieces, and some say that neither do we.

However, even if this is true (despite revelation and our own insight telling us that it isn't), it isn't necessarily useful to acknowledge this "truth." As Hank Green pointed out in his videos on this topic, if people believed that their decisions were predetermined by physical and chemical events far beyond their control, then they likely wouldn't feel the need to take responsibility for their actions, and they would probably make poor decisions. Or, if they can't make poor decisions (because no one makes any real decisions at all), they still might be more likely to perform actions (voluntarily or not) that would cause more suffering than would have occurred if they believed they were responsible for their actions. For society and individuals to function properly, we have to believe in free will. That is largely why Hank Green said, "I choose, with the free will that I don't have, to ignore the fact that I don't have free will." So do I.

I believe that people have free will. In his discussion on determinism, Hank mentioned the possibility of "quantum fluctuations" making certain physical processes, including, perhaps, human behavior, unpredictable and I choose to believe that, even if this world is governed entirely by the laws of physics, our spirits might be somewhere outside of the physical world, pulling the quantum strings. But regardless of my pseudo-scientific explanation of free will, I choose to believe in it because of a) revelation, and b) basically the same reason Hank Green gave: Because if I didn't think I was responsible for my decisions, I would probably make worse decisions.

Free will is important. It is a vital element of our spiritual progress, and it's an integral part of our societal structure. In fact, free will is so important that at least one intelligent man has decided that it's wise to believe in it, even if it doesn't exist.