- Question
Do human beings have free will?
Do we have control over our actions? If we do, what sort of control and to what extent? Free will is the power to act without the constraint of necessity or fate. It is the ability to act at one's own discretion. For centuries, people have wondered how freedom is possible in a world ruled by physical determinism. Reflections on free will have been confined to philosophy until half a century ago, when the topic started also to be seriously investigated by neuroscientists. Today, there are several irreconcilable positions about the existence of human free will.
Yes, people have free will
This position holds that human beings have free will. It argues that individuals determine their own actions without interference from outside forces, that our lived experience strongly feels like genuine choice, and that without free will, moral order would collapse into chaos.
No, people don't have free will
This position holds that humans lack free will, arguing our actions are predetermined rather than freely chosen. It points to neuroscientific research said to undercut the notion of conscious choice and to the idea that fate ultimately cannot be escaped.
There is a middle ground
This position holds that the free-will debate has a middle ground. It argues that while we may not control everything we do, that does not mean everything is wholly determined for us—a view known as compatibilism, or soft determinism, which reconciles free will with causation.
We don’t know yet - but researchers are trying to find out
This position holds that we do not yet know whether human beings have free will. It argues that the current scientific research into our capacity for free will is indeterminate — the question still open — but that researchers are actively working to find out.