Are We Really Free Or Just Well Trained?
Let me start with a small confession. I have never stolen anything in my life,I no that..... and for a long time I thought that said something noble about me, then one day I asked myself a question that ruined my self esteem a little, would I still be this honest if I knew for sure that nobody would ever find out?
I didn't like how long it took me to answer.
That's the heart of this whole free will debate, isn't it? We like to say we are free to do whatever we want, But look closely and so many of our "choices" are quietly steered by fear. Fear of jail, fear of what mama will say, fear of being the topic of discussion in the family WhatsApp group, If the consequences vanished tomorrow, how many of our decisions would stay the same?
So the question is fair..... if a deterrent is the reason I do not do something, did I really choose not to do it?
Let me give the other side its due, because it is a strong one, every decision you make comes from things you never picked, your parents, your environment, your religion, your brain chemistry, you did not choose your fears, so you didn't really choose what your fears produce, some scientists even say the brain starts preparing an action before you are aware you ve decided, If that is true, free will is just a story we tell afterward, like a passenger holding a steering wheel that is not connected to anything.
I get it, I really do.... but I don't fully buy it, having a deterrent is not the same as having no choice, picture a man at a junction, one road is shorter but has a police checkpoint known for collecting bribes, the other is longer and free, he takes the long road, was he forced? No, he weighed the cost and decided, the checkpoint influenced him, but influence isn't control, a truly unfree person can't weigh anything, they just get pushed.
And honestly, if deterrents cancel free will, then nobody has ever been free, because every decision comes with a price tag, Quit your job? Consequence. Tell your boss the truth? Consequence, Marry the person you love against your family's wishes? Consequence, and a big one. ...... Real life has never offered choices without costs, if cost kills freedom, then freedom was never on the menu.
What I think is closer to the truth is that free will isn't the power to do anything without limits. It's the ability to look at your options, understand what each one will cost you, and choose anyway...... sometimes you choose the safe thing, sometimes you choose the thing that's going to hurt, because it matters more, the person who takes the punishment for what they believe in is using free will in its purest form, the person who obeys only because they 're scared of being caught is using it too, just at a lower level.
Which brings me back to my honesty, I would like to believe I am not stealing because I don't want to be a thief, not just because I'm scared of being caught, but the truth is probably both, and that's okay, Q choice shaped by fear is still a choice, It just tells you something about the person making it.
So no, consequences don't take away our freedom, they only reveal what we're willing to pay for it.
Image Is Geneated With ChatGpt
