[pjerem]

Choosing is not free will.

You choose based on your past experience. If you know doing A is better than B, you didn’t choose A, it’s just that your brain already knows that A is the best option based on past experience or knowledge or beliefs.

Even if you choose the seemingly "worst" option B, it’s just that you know that new experiences can be rewarding so your brain is ok to try it.

And there is the extreme example : given you are in good mental health, you are totally, physically, unable to chose to kill someone (or even yourself) without a very important reason (to you).

Also, if the absence of free will at biological levels don’t make the concept useless at the society level. Accepting that environment, culture, knowledge and society have such an influence on us just shows the importance of shaping a good society.

Accepting absence of free will at a biological level can just makes us more empathetic towards others.

It doesn’t means society have to accept any wrong behavior from humans but rather something way more positive : society is ultimately responsible for individuals behaviors and have the power to change them for the benefit of everyone.

[piloto_ciego]

This is a lot of text to mean, “I’ve already made up my mind I can’t make any choices.”

Typing out such a long rambling reply was itself a choice.

[Kbelicius]

> Typing out such a long rambling reply was itself a choice.

First sentence GP wrote is: "Choosing is not free will.". Did you choose to ignore what GP wrote when writing your reply?

Free will isn't about making choices, at least not according to any definition I've heard. After all, it is obvious that in some way we do make choices. As far as my understanding goes free will is, depending on the definition, either about choosing differently when all else is equal or not having a gun pointed at your head when making a choice.

[piloto_ciego]

Free will is absolutely largely about making choices. That’s not all of it, but denying that is silly, it’s goal post shifting from the ones who don’t believe in it.

[Kbelicius]

> Free will is absolutely largely about making choices.

Free will largely isn't about making choices or having choices. It is largely about how/why we make choices.

Bacteria can move, thus bacteria have a choice of direction in which to move. Bacteria move, so it is making a choice.

If GP has free will just because they made a choice to write a reply to you, as you claim, then it must follow that bacteria also have free will. Am I wrong or do you think that bacteria have free will?

[piloto_ciego]

Responding to stimuli with a reflex is not a choice.

[Kbelicius]

That just sounds like an arbitrary difference. What is the difference between a reflex action and choice action? Do animals have free will?