Conscious decision. The question of whether we can make a conscious decision and have free will is one of the most important questions of all. For it determines whether we are responsible for our actions and can be held accountable for them.
Which of the competing impulses within me emerges as will—and why?
The question of whether we have free will and can make a conscious decision is one of the most important questions of all. After all, it determines whether we are responsible for our actions and can be held accountable for them.
If every decision were merely the result of external circumstances that we do not and cannot control, we could not have acted any differently than we did and would not be responsible for our actions.
If I can’t do anything about it anyway, it’s pointless to judge my situation, my actions, and my intentions, and to wonder whether I should change myself and my behavior.
How can we judge another person if he or she had no other choice?
Is responsibility merely a useful concept to ensure that society functions?
What does “free” mean in this context?
In the real world, there is nothing that is not dependent on causes and conditions and can therefore be regarded as absolutely free. For this reason, human will cannot be absolutely free.
If we nevertheless wish to speak of free will, we must specify criteria for this freedom.
A decision is considered free:
1. if the person can choose between alternatives.
2. if the person decides for themselves.
3. if the person is not subject to any pressure in their decision.
This “not being subject to any pressure” needs to be supplemented:
Internal pressure is also a form of pressure. I cannot be truly free if I am trapped in an addiction. And even if I freely decide not to eat anything right now, I will still have to eat something at some point.
Moreover, reflections on free will are only meaningful for conscious decisions—for decisions that have been made, at least in part, through reflection and for reasons that are, in principle, understandable.
A decision is influenced by so many factors
Even if conditions 1–3 are met—my decision is still influenced by all sorts of things.
A decision is predetermined and shaped by genetics, perception, upbringing, learning processes, society, conventions, ideas, expectations, desires, emotions, hormones, dopamine surges, and addictions. The influences are endless.
How does a decision come about?
Why do I decide exactly this way? Which of the competing impulses within me emerges as will—and why?
Sometimes a decision flickers back and forth briefly or spins, like the ball in a game of roulette, until it finally settles somewhere.
Every thought and every decision-making process is accompanied by activity in billions of nerve cells within the neural networks of my brain, which manifest as neurotransmitters, electrical impulses, and feedback loops.
Do they follow any rules? Do I determine the rules? Who is this “I”?
It seems that the brain has already decided before my consciousness experiences the decision.
So am I really still making conscious decisions?
At all. When do I truly make a conscious decision? Don’t I almost always act automatically?
Aren’t we extremely complex biological robots who often do this or that for reasons that are ultimately not really comprehensible?
Subjectively, we think we act freely
Even if I’m influenced by so many things and even if everything were predetermined, it still seems to me as though I could act freely. I could have decided differently.
Because mental states are also conditioned, they are changeable. That’s why I can influence which decisions will arise within me in the future.
I possess the capacity for self-reflection. This creates a space in which I can simulate various possibilities. I can consider what I should do in a given situation, reflect on my motives, become aware of my desires, examine reasons, learn from experience, direct my attention, change my habits, pursue long-term goals, and hold back impulsive reactions.
Conclusion
I don’t know whether my will is truly completely free. But I am able to actively influence it. That is why I am responsible for my actions.
Mindfulness, practice, and insight can change the conditions under which future decisions will arise within me. Seen in this light, freedom is less an absolute independence from causes than a growing liberation of the mind from its unconscious conditioning and automatic reactions.
Sometimes there are moments when I can think more clearly. It always feels as if I’m awake for a brief moment and then soon slip back into uncontrolled habits.
This is a key goal of meditation: to become conscious and gain control over myself. In doing so, I also take responsibility for my actions.
