Do we have free will? Or are all our actions pre-determined? In other words are we inextricably bound by fate, kismet or vidhi? I am sure most people would probably say that a human being has the ability to choose their actions in any situation.
When I was young I was told by my parents that our lives were pre-determined. That it was one’s vidhi or fate to suffer or enjoy in life. This could be because of one’s karma they said. As I grew older I realized that man has the ability to make a choice. As a conscious being we have the ability to choose one of several possible alternatives.
While this argument may sound plausible at a surface, when one probe deeper we find that we really do not have free will. Our current state in life is dependent on our past actions. The actions that we choose to take, at any point in life, are dependent in a large part on our past experiences. The choice we may take is dependent on our past reasons, our past conditioning, our current biases and current opinions. The actions that we take in the present are definitely determined by our conditioning in life.
Given the fact that our actions can only be based on our past experiences, does it make sense to think that our actions are independent of any past conditioning? The answer is an emphatic, No!
Clearly this indicates that our actions are determined by our past conditioning. Then where is the question of free will?
Free will pre-supposes that our actions in the present cannot be determined in any way and is in many ways, truly random. But this is clearly not true. In any given situation, our choice will depend on our past experience and we will act in the most optimum way. Our choice will depend on whether there is personal gain. For e.g. when we are insulted, we do feel hurt. That is true for most of us. May be a few enlightened souls, may choose to be detached from the insult. But a majority of human beings will behave in extremely predictable ways in any given situation. The only difference in behavior will only arise based on the slightly different experiences that different people have.
Otherwise our actions are truly predictable and will be based on past conditioning. We will chose to maximize our gains in any given situation and make the most rational choice.
Given this does it make sense to think that man has free will? Clearly not! The world and our lives are deterministic and we are all bound in fate.