A Sense of Free Will: a new essay (Introduction)

by dhw, Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 19:07 (3322 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: This article points out the appearance of free will in animals and humans. Can it be measured?-http://aeon.co/magazine/philosophy/free-will-is-back-and-maybe-we-can-measure-it/-QUOTE: "With FQ, by contrast, we can recognise that even the freest will is still limited, and that everyone is ultimately a part of life's great web of causes and connections."-David's comment: Obviously I agree with him. I suggest reading the whole essay. I've just snatched out bits.-
The sentence I've quoted seems to me to gloss over the conflicting aspects of the subject, while much of the article focuses on the multiplicity of choices and not on why and how we make our choices, which lies at the heart of the debate. 
My view, as painstakingly expounded during the long-drawn-out discussion with Romansh, is that the whole subject revolves round (a) one's definition of free will, and (b) one's concept of freedom. As regards (a), I believe the definition must be neutral, allowing for both sides of the argument, e.g. the ability to make conscious choices within given constraints. As regards (b) we can argue as Romansh does that it means freedom from the chain of cause and effect which clearly has no end, and so our choices can always be traced back to causes beyond our control (in his definition, ultimately, the existence of the universe). No free will. But if we argue that it means freedom from coercion - e.g. by individuals or institutions - then we can say we have it. We can also argue that although our identity is influenced by countless factors beyond our control (cause and effect), nevertheless that identity is ours and ours alone, so it is not the influences (genes, upbringing, education etc.) that make the conscious choices, but the individual being that incorporates them all, and so individuals do have the ability to make conscious choices within given constraints. However, as before, I would not like to draw a strict borderline here, since there are circumstances in which certain types of constraint may lead to a change in a person's identity or levels of consciousness (e.g. illness or drugs), as movingly illustrated by the case of BBella's father.