Philosophy of Everything

Will

What is "will"?  Is it an emotion? A feeling? Or a thought? It seems to be all of these. But if we consider the power and purpose of will, it becomes clear that only one thing can truly explain its nature: free choice. Will chooses freely. In other words, when I choose something with my mind or heart, then I am making a decision in accordance with my own desires. When you make a decision for yourself, you are exercising your free will. The freedom of your choices determines whether you live according to reason or not. And since each person's life is lived within his own self-made cage, there is no such thing as fate—only our own decisions determining what kind of world we build for ourselves.When people think about free will they often imagine themselves deciding between two equally attractive options. One day someone asks them to pick either chocolate ice cream or vanilla. They have already made up their minds which flavor they prefer, so now they must decide on the basis of personal taste alone. If they follow their preference, they eat chocolate; if they do not, they eat vanilla. So far so good. Yet this scenario does not represent real free will at all because it presupposes that everyone has chosen the same option. Free will cannot be exercised by those who have been told what to think or feel. Only a free man makes his own choices. As long as he follows his own inner voice instead of listening to others, he remains true to himself.In fact, many people find it hard to accept the idea of free will. Even though most of us acknowledge that human beings possess it, we still believe that the rest of creation lacks it. For example, animals have instinctive reactions to stimuli and therefore appear to act mechanically. But this isn't really so. Although some creatures show little ability to learn from experience, they still retain much of their natural behavior patterns. Thus wolves, foxes, hyenas, and bears exhibit similar characteristics to humans. We call this similarity "instinct" even though the similarities don't stem from any shared ancestry but rather are products of evolution. Since instincts exist in every species, including ours, we can conclude that they were created through millions of years of trial and error. Because animals aren't able to control their actions, however, we tend to assume that they lack free will.The same goes for plants and trees. Their roots grow into soil, while branches reach out toward sunlight. They move around naturally without conscious direction. From time to time they may also change color or shape, yet they do not seem to have the ability to choose how they react to their environment. This means that although plants do have a lot of flexibility, they do not exercise free will. Like animals, they simply respond automatically to environmental conditions.However, once again the opposite conclusion is mistaken. When a plant is given instructions to grow, it immediately obeys them. And when a tree is pruned or fertilized, it responds accordingly. Therefore, it appears that plants are capable of choosing what to do next, just like us. Of course, they do not make their decisions consciously. Rather, they act instinctively, guided by the needs of their growing body. But when they need to adapt to new circumstances, they do it willingly. To illustrate, let's take a look at the sunflower. When it first comes into existence, its seed germinates in warm soil rich in nutrients. Then, after sprouting leaves and flowers, the plant grows tall. Eventually, it reaches maturity and blooms. At this point, it stops producing seeds and starts gathering energy from sunlight instead. During winter, the flower dies off. The cycle begins anew with spring. Sunflowers thus display perfect adaptation to changing conditions. They are fully aware of what they're doing. They know that they will die unless they alter their habits. They have made a conscious decision to adjust their lives to suit the changing seasons.This means that plants are more than merely passive organisms. They have decided to stop reproducing during the cold months, thereby saving precious resources. In short, they have chosen to survive. Plants are perfectly willing to sacrifice themselves to ensure the continuation of their species. However, they do not have free will. They are forced to do whatever they do by virtue of the way they've been designed.The same applies to all living things. An ant doesn't choose to go back to work. It moves along because it was programmed to do so. Similarly, bees collect nectar to feed their young. They do not choose to gather honey, but they do it anyway. Every creature is ruled by instinct. No matter how intelligent they become, they always obey their programming.Even humans are subject to the laws of biology. Our bodies operate according to a set of rules that determine what we do. If we don't want to sleep, we can't help falling asleep. If we try to avoid eating, we'll get hungry. If we wish to live longer, we must keep working. These behaviors are built into our very being. And since we are unable to break free of them, we are forced to do whatever we do.Of course, our bodies are not entirely controlled by instinct. We have free will too. 

But the true question remains:

How much of our choices are truly ours..?