“Men believe themselves to be free, because they are conscious of their own actions and are ignorant of the causes by which they are determined.” (Spinoza. Ethics III)
The topic of free will is one which seems always to stimulate lots of discussion and some strongly held views. It occurred to me the other day that maybe this is because it is crucial to the sense of my ‘self’ as a separate entity. It is very important to ‘me’ that I should have the power of choice. If this is not the case, it somehow demeans who-I-feel-myself-to-be, relegating me to the level of an animal, forever bound by its inherited nature. It would mean that I am at the mercy of whatever chance events occur around me, reacting to them in an automatic, programmed manner, little better than a robot. Continue reading