Free Will

Suppose I ask you to predict how a particular system would behave in the future. In that case, you will probably ask me to access the historical data that the system has ever created. And you will be correct.

We must examine history to predict the future, and when we say history, we mean all events, small or big. We need to know all of them in the proper order to predict the future precisely. That will be true for all systems.

We can almost prognosticate where the next pandemic is going to start. We can predict tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes with great certainty. Researchers have access to hundreds of years of historical data. Some models fill the void of past or historical events, which then help predict the future with more significant accuracy.

We certainly have made tremendous progress in technology and science to foretell the future by looking at past event data.

If this is true for all systems, would this be true for humans too? Can we predict an individual’s life or lives based on their past life data? Assume a system can monitor an individual’s life and examine minuscule details from the start. Can we predict the future for that individual, or is it impossible to predict an individual’s life or action despite having access to every historical event of an individual’s life.

I feel it would be impossible for any piece of technology, no matter how advanced, to predict the future for an individual even if we have access to every shred of historical data related to an individual’s past life.

The whole reason for this inability to predict an individual’s future is because of “Free Will.” Free will is something that separates humans from the rest of the systems (non-loving). Free will is the liberty of humans to make decisions that are not determined by prior causes or divine intervention.

In other words, a human is capable of making different choices every time, even if the encompassing constraints are identical. That is one key factor that separates humans from the machines or the system, as I have been in this article.

The critical question is, what is so special about Free Will?

Let me start with John Horgan’s quote, “I can live without God, but I need free will. Without free will, life makes no sense, it lacks meaning”. Free will makes us human and is the crucial reason that every individual is different and unique in his or her way. Free will is the very basis of morality, ethics also diversity.

From the chastity perspective, two different individuals can make completely different choices under an exact similar context and situation. And, that’s not true for systems. If you replace humans with a system, they will make the same choices under an exact similar context and situation, no matter the time you repeat the test. That is the beauty of free will.

While Free Will cannot help us determine wrong vs. right, it can certainly help us understand that people are free to make their own choices. What’s right for you may not be right for someone else. If you are free to make your choices, so is the other person.

As per the https://themotionmachine.com, recent studies show that some belief in free will is very important for our psychology and mental health. Here are five scientific reasons you should believe in free will.

• It gives you more self-control — One study found that weakening an individual’s belief in free will led to a decrease in self-control and willpower.
• It makes you more pro-social — Another study found that disbelief in free will can also lead to an increase in aggression and reduction in helpfulness toward others.
• It improves job performance — A recent study also shows that a belief in free will predicts better career attitudes and overall job performance.
• It makes you more honest — Another study shows that weakening a belief in free will leads to more dishonesty and cheating.
• It makes your brain less automatic — One interesting study reveals that a belief in free will makes our brains less automatic.

If you believe you have no real control over your circumstances, nothing motivates you to do something positive. You sit back and passively watch life happen.

So exercise your free will and influence your circumstances to improve your surroundings and the world. The world today needs it more than ever.