To address the issue of freewill adequately, it is important to put forward a reasonable theory to explain the functioning of the universe. The following sounds reasonable to me:
Everything in the universe is governed by the fundamental laws of physics.
No future event in the universe can be predicted with certainty, due to quantum randomness. However, a probability distribution of the future events can be computed given all the data in the universe (over all space and time) up to the present instant and given enough computing power and intelligence.
The first life systems are self-replicating systems with an instinct for self-preservation, much like computer programs with the same properties.
More evolved organisms developed abilities like data collection using sensory organs, data storage/retrieval using the nervous system, and learning and evolving capabilities using the brain, to better fight changing environmental challenges.
The will of a being is the function of the universe over all space and time, till the instant he wills. Here, the universe including the being making the decision is the input, whereas the being himself is the processor of that input.
The program that processes this input is the being himself, and he is not separate from his program.
Humans are programmed to program themselves (ability to change self).
The will can never be predicted with certainty, due to fundamental quantum randomness. Only a probability distribution of the “will” can be computed.
We "will" by a pre-self-determined process. We are programmed to think with some preset (modifiable) inputs and goals. And the longer we live, the more free, and thus the more responsible, we are for our actions. It is true that the process of our "will" is automated, but it is automated by ourselves. If freewill is self-generated and indeterminable, then we do possess freewill.
Maybe, looking at things in a different way, it is true that we are not free. We are not free not to see with our eyes open. We are not free not to think, decide, and act. We are not free to like what we don’t like. And also, we are not free not to will, the way we like.
The above also suggests that, our fate is, as all future, unknown, unknowable, and truly random. The biggest variable that determines the fate of an individual is the individual himself, influenced by numerous external events, along with quantum randomness.
This is as it should be. Else, what is the point in the universe following a pre-determined course of events?
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