Is There Free Will?
1. The Question
Is there free will.
Not as a philosophical abstraction, but as a lived tension:
Am I choosing, or am I just reacting to forces I don’t understand?
2. The Human Angle
You stand at the crossroads of a decision — one that feels small but isn’t.
Do I speak the truth, or keep the peace?
Do I stay, or go?
Do I forgive, or protect myself?
And in that moment, you feel the weight of everything behind you:
your upbringing, your culture, your trauma, your biology, your habits, your fears.
You wonder:
Am I free to choose, or am I just the sum of my conditioning?
3. The Inquiry
The question of free will has been wrestled with for centuries:
- Determinists say everything is caused — by physics, genetics, environment. Choice is an illusion.
- Libertarians (in the philosophical sense) argue that we have genuine agency, even if it’s mysterious.
- Compatibilists try to reconcile the two: maybe freedom is choosing within constraints.
- Mystics suggest that the self who chooses is itself a construct — and freedom lies in surrender.
Neuroscience shows decisions forming before we’re conscious of them.
Spiritual traditions speak of liberation from ego, not indulgence of it.
Therapists talk about rewiring patterns — which implies we’re not stuck.
So which is it?
4. The Turn
Maybe the question isn’t “Do I have free will?”
Maybe it’s “Where does my freedom begin?”
Is it in the pause before I react?
Is it in the story I tell myself about what’s happening?
Is it in the way I interpret my past — not as fate, but as context?
Maybe freedom isn’t a switch.
Maybe it’s a muscle.
Maybe it grows when I notice my patterns, name them, and choose differently — even once.
5. The Invitation
Try this:
Next time you feel pulled by habit, pause.
Ask: “Is this the only way?”
Even if you still choose the familiar path, notice that you could have chosen otherwise.
That noticing — that flicker of awareness — might be the birthplace of freedom.
Would you like a graphic to pair with this one too? I can shape it to evoke the tension between constraint and choice, or the spaciousness of possibility. Or we can move on to the next question in the series.
post inspired by A Theology for the Rest of Us by Arthur Yavelberg.
Book description:
If God exists and is good, why is there evil? Avoiding such questions underlies the spiritual emptiness and anxiety in today's world. A Theology for the Rest of Us explores how to approach the divine through Eastern and Western religious traditions without dogma, challenging readers to "be you lamps unto yourselves."
In a time of internecine wars and all kinds of abuse of authority and trust, too many good, thoughtful people are "voting with their feet" and turning away from organized religion. Popular "spirituality"-a sort of mysticism-lite articulated in memes-is often unsatisfying as well.
A Theology for the Rest of Us is a straightforward approach to the fundamental questions of religion and philosophy:
- Does God exist?
- Is there free will?
- What is 'evil'?
This book draws on the traditions of the East as well as the West-Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism in addition to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-to see what can make sense in today's world. Whether exploring the implications of 17th century Enlightenment philosophers, quantum physics, or the insights of writers such as Dostoyevsky and Alan Watts, the reader is offered a rational, coherent approach that can provide understanding and a basis for hope in a world where the spirit has been all but decimated by doubt and worse.
Most important, the reader is encouraged to sift through these sources and choose what resonates and what does not. As the Buddha taught so many years ago, the Prime Directive is "Be ye lamps unto yourselves." A Theology for the Rest of Us makes teachings accessible to those who have already begun their spiritual journeys, validating their questions and showing that reasonable answers are available.
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