Do You Ever "Really" Do Anything Out Of Your Own Conscious Choice, Or Are We Always Controlled By Some External Stimulation Or Motive?

Question

TwistedTube · Accepted Answer

If you consider everything from a completely scientific standpoint, so things like souls wouldn't exist, then no you never do anything out of your own choice because your choice doesn't truly exist. Your brain is ultimately nothing but molecules and iones forming chemical processes, and somehow this gives birth to what we think are our own unique thoughts. In reality, these are just constant reactions reacting to other reactions. So while we think we have our own unique thoughts, in reality we'd just be one really complicated biological machine. The less complicated a machine is, the easier it is to notice its a machine. A clear example of this could be observed in ants. Nothing they ever do seems to be out of the ordinary, they always follow the same rhythm. They walk out of there nest to explore, leaving behind a trail of pheromones. If they happen to find a resource such as food, they will then follow a different pheromone path back to home, further reinforcing that pheromone path to their base. If an ant stumbles upon a stronger pheromone path while exploring, they will immediately abandon their current path and follow the path with stronger pheromones, leading to the resource. And then they make their way back again. A worker ant's life is basically nothing but this systematic pattern. Truly and clearly nothing but biological machines.

Despite this whole post though, I actually do believe in metaphysical things like a soul 😅
But it definitely provides some nice food for thought

Lliam · Accepted Answer

It's true that the choice we make are based on circumstances we find ourselves in and the choices we are given.
For example, I have an opportunity to learn how to snowboard. Do I want to or not? If I break my leg my first time out, is it someone else's fault.
Or... there's a pretty girl. Should I ask her out even though I haven't yet met every pretty girl in the world and can't know if this one is the one perfect girl for me?
Or... I'm standing on a cliff next to the sea. Other people are jumping in, but nobody is encouraging me to do so. On what do I base my decision to jump or not?
Or... I driving alone in my car on an empty highway. Whose decision would it be if I drove over the posted speed limit?

We are confronted by countess choices every minute of every day. Some small and some momentous. We are confronted by a limited number of choices that are based on our personal circumstances. Nevertheless, it's up to us to choose. And our choices often determine our future.

So my opinion is, we have conscious choice and, although external factors essentially force us to choose which action to take, we still have to choose. Even to choose to do nothing is a choice.

CrotchRot · Accepted Answer

Well, let's break it down. Currently, if we were living in some kind of artificial world, running a pre-determined program of some kind, we won't know that we are -- at least not that we can tell.

So then you deal with the question "if I can't tell I'm being controlled, does it matter?" I think it doesn't. So whether we are being controlled or not is a moot point, but whether we believe we have control.

Ez-Bri-Z · Accepted Answer

I'm very go with the flow so generally ill just let things happen the way do and then react and adjust as necessary. So for the most part I feel like I kinda I have to do everything consciously to be able to react.

coachTanthony · Answer

I consciously am responding to this question so no lol

Finchie40 · Answer

We all have free will so whatever we choose to do is on us , it just comes down to the consequences of our actions , Just like I choose to drink beer on the weekends, cuz I enjoy it , and it relaxes me and I love the taste , is it bad for me? probably , but what is actually good for us? Me personally feels better when I am happy , beer makes me happy so is that really bad? The thing is no matter what we choose their will always be an opposite , Life in general is based off of 2 sides , their is 2 sides of everything we choose to do , Positive and Negative, Right or wrong, bad or good , Happy and Sad etc.. So all that really matters is what you choose to do cuz we all have free will , We are all going to die from something , so I choose to live my life reaching for things that make me happy and surround myself with others that make me smile , we are all imperfect people , so when we meet someone that accepts are flaws like we accept theirs that’s all that matters , I know people that exercised daily , watched what they ate counted their calories and they still dropped dead at a young age , so is exercise and watching calories really a good thing? My thing is , doing what makes me happy is a good thing and removing as much negativity as I can is what makes me get out of bed every day to face a new day.

HiveBee · Answer

I think we have free will. There is nothing magic about it. It's an emergent property of physics in my opinion.

I see that the debate rages on at the highest level. But personally I think they have missed something.

The fact that we can feel or experience anything is a far more mysterious phenomenon than consciousness or free will.

The fact that a bunch of star dust can come together into a complex form that gains the ability to experience existing.

So clearly, experience, sense, feeling, is all an emergent property of existence.

For us humans and many other organisms, perception is survival.

And yet, we seem to have free will. We seem to be conscious. Though some argue consciousness is an illusion. However consciousness is required for the organism to survive. Even if consciousness is an illusion. And I think that is wrong as well.

If star dust can feel and experience it's own existence, how can you think free will is this massive leap from there?

Determinism does not explain how we can feel and experience. And yet we baseline accept it without question.

Anyways, I think we have free will and it is an emergent property of physics. I think free will is 100% logical and correct. But I can't justify it to anyone else.

At the highest level the debate rages on though.

MotorcycleMan · Answer

Hmmm... my reaction is to say yes, of course I do, but then, all of my opinions and reasoning are going to be based off of my entire life experience (and any extrapolation) so in that regard you could say no, everything is based off of some external situation or motive. Great, now I have to think more. Ouch, it burns...

genericname85 · Answer

the longer in the distance something is, the more you have an impact through planning. the more immediate something is, the less of a difference your choice makes.

example: you can plan a bungee jump years in advance. though once you're in the air, falling down, that's where you can't change anything about what is happening in this moment. you're going down, whether you want it or not.

TurboKid · Answer

The way I see it is that regardless of whether or not we're actually freely making choices or if that's only an introspective illusion, it's valuable to take ownership and accountability over those decisions.

For example, if I built a robot that relies on unsupervised machine learning, it would definitely lack free will and its behaviors would be purely deterministic, yet it would still be incredibly useful to give it a sense of accountability so that it can learn from its mistakes and not helplessly repeat them over and over.

So I'm a huge advocate of accountability as the most important of all character traits. Lots of people seem to find it difficult to reconcile accountability with a deterministic outlook, but I'd just say that I might be helpless but to be an advocate of accountability. Maybe I am predestined to be an accountability advocate writing this answer on GaG.

sp33d · Answer

Hah, that's a clever way of asking about the F-word. I've always "believed" that, at least I, have free will. It would be quite sad to know how much I've worked for my various goals if all of it was already predetermined. But if I have it, there's no reason why other people wouldn't have free will.

So, absolutely. I do Everything out of my own choice.

OfDeath · Answer

The current understanding is no. We're all reactionary to our environments based on past experiences, calculation and self preservation or the preservation of others. To those who say that means there's no morality are wrong. Our experiences have programmed us to be moral as a means of self preservation.

EnglishEuropean · Answer

Well as most of you know choice is an illusion, but then so is consciousness. We really are victims of neurons firing off in our brains. For example I didn't make a conscious choice to answer this question. The question was here so I answered it. I didn't even consciously choose this answer, I just started typing.

hearvoices · Answer

Nothing like a shot of determinism to go with my morning brew. Nobody really knows, but if we're all controlled by nothing but external stimuli, then there is no morality or moral accountability, since nothing is done really by choice. Problem is that we all behave as if morality does exist. So maybe there is conscious choice or free will as it's called. And I have to stop there because these discussions tend to risk making my head explode.

MasseurDeMojo · Answer

Everything we do in life is our own choice!! The only time it is not a choice is one uses threats to life to force us to do an action.

We have many guidelines on how to live this life, we choose which ones we wish to follow, and which to reject. Never choose just because someone says it is the right choice, prove it first, and if it holds true; then decide of your on conscious to go that course.

averageguy4 · Answer

I think empathy helps in a lot of choices. At work sometimes i really don't want to help someone because i know it'll be a ton more work for me and i don't have to do it. But i grot my teeth, offer a new solution that involves me doing a lot of work, and a client that doesn't care about my work that I'll never see again feels good that hos problems are solved.

Anonymous · Answer

You have conscious choice, but you're always swayed by your unconscious motives. Most people can't walk down a city sidewalk in a straight line. You will always veer left or right depending on what you're passing. For instance, let's say there's a dentist's office, an ice cream shop, a gym, and a pizza shop all in a row. You'll veer toward the ice cream and pizza shops, and away from the dentist and gym.

Celtero · Answer

I think I could argue either way but I lean more towards determinism.

rievious · Answer

I don't believe there is some external entity controlling us. The world always looks like a mess and if I do play a role in it then I wish I didn't feel so lost all the time. Maybe there are too many pieces on the board so some of them don't get used in a game. I'm just a piece that doesn't get used.

Floppy2112 · Answer

Freewill does exist. I don't want to have to write the dissertation necessary to establish the argument. Basically, it breaks down very simply, you cannot argue for determinism without invoking an active contradiction. By the very fact one argues for determinism, they contradict it's existence, because they plead to freewill by the simple act of arguing for it. There is no point in making an argument for something that you could not have done otherwise hence, active contradiction.

pjf1958 · Answer

Unless you by into the idea that this is all a computer simulation then no. Quantum mechanics has been proven time and again that reality on the smallest of planck scales is completely random and, non deterministic. Most experts in physics will tell you that they are bottom-up thinkers. In other words , they believe that the most fundamental mysteries of the universe reside at the smallest of planck scales.

DaveToo · Answer

There are times when we must react to the circumstances around us, so we don't make a conscious choice, it's just reactionary. Other times we choose specifically to follow a certain path.

TonyMetal___86 · Answer

The hungry extraterrastrials are controlling me and they told me to bite the spongy forehead so hard 😬 👽👽

GoodGuyBreakingBad · Answer

Yes, sadly some of the choices cause our money in the bank to disappear

Jxrdyn_13 · Answer

I believe that everything happens for a reason and our choices and opinions cause a huge ripple affect to the universe and world

invalid1 · Answer

External external external. According to Mark Twain and Sam Harris, we are made of external factors, we act onto external factors. So free will is an illusion. Lol

krin_m · Answer

I try to everything with forethought! May be there are times I respond to external stimuli without much thought but hopefully those are few and far in between!

moejoeloli · Answer

Basically nope. We all trying to survive by instinct

jerdanro · Answer

That is an entire field of study. Great question. I think we are all influence by a million things, but I don't know the answer.

Alyssa11 · Answer

I believe in free will but I also believe that our surroundings limit our options sometimes.

kkirk4442 · Answer

We clearly have the power of choice and free will. Yes, we may be strongly influenced by external stimuli, but we always have the power of choice.

exitseven · Answer

I make conscious choices all the time. Every time I get up at 5 AM to go to the gym I am making a choice, to stay in shape or roll over and go back to sleep.

SaoirseS · Answer

We do a lot of things out of conscious choice I believe. But admittedly a lot of bad decisions are the result of external stimuli.

COMMODOREII · Answer

Depends on how you look at it. Plus what if our reality is just God's imagination?

collie22 · Answer

i'm wanting divine guidance but my flesh will takes over my choices at the worst possible times

Massageman · Answer

You  always  have a choice. Many circumstances, though, may limit them in number, scope, direction, etc. "Whether you think you can or you can't you are right." Henry Ford.

Furuok · Answer

There is a part of me that leaks , not really leaks, body fluids. The mini me has draw backs he's blind. Where the base of operations notices parking arrangements who is allowed in my driveway. The lookout my eyes approves all short skirts and tight anything. But my mouth will only respond near gas pumps. Okay yes I'm a freaKing idiot and not trying to show off.

loves2learn · Answer

I do believe we have conscious choice and free will. We made decisions all the time, big and small.

Minahh · Answer

This is a hard one. I think that yes we do some things consciously but then there are things which were like meant to happen and we couldn't do anything about that.

Skyros · Answer

This a very complex topic for most as well as controversial. Being a Christian, I believe we have free will because God said we do. What confuses people is the fact that God knows everything that anyone will ever do, but He does not cause it.

Jmmmfi4 · Answer

Its much to early for deep philosophical questions like this

dray995 · Answer

I’d say 50/50. Some choices are of our own will, while others are guided by external factors beyond our own power.

loveslongnails · Answer

Many things certainly seem like a conscious choice. You can choose your motive, you know.

Waldoe · Answer

I am almost always reacting to some outside influence... when it's peaceful, so am I. I don't generally impose on others existence

princeofromance · Answer

We always have the free will to make our own decisions, unless we are on life support and cannot physically or emotionally make a conscious decision.

Wiredone · Answer

I make conscious decisions every day. People's lives depends on what my decision is

Archerer · Answer

There is not such thing as free will, it is an illusion. A pretty good one though

he-takes-a-part · Answer

After stimulation the concious choice is made its a chain not isolated two things

WowwGirl · Answer

That's deep you lost me

Anonymous · Answer

Not really. As you can see I am feeling damn horny after having a sex chat with a guy i didn't wanted to.

Likes2drive · Answer

I try to make logical choices

pizzalovershouse · Answer

I do what feels right an moral

Gwenhwyfar · Answer

I disagree. We do have conscious choice.

dudeinohio · Answer

hmm.. interesting... I just do not know

Andres77 · Answer

It's a mix

Miah02 · Answer

By choice

Tstrbrainer · Answer

Conscious choice

JosyJosy · Answer

Most is choice.

anylolone · Answer

Both, neither.

Coolkat12345 · Answer

Combination of both.

Lynx122 · Answer

Yes I think so :)

JesseJayNeak · Answer

I do it by choice

abhi75757 · Answer

Yes i did some time

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