Essays

Free Will: Nonexistence

The resolution states that science leaves no room for free will. To this, I resolve that it is true. In order to efficiently argue against the concept of free will, free will shall be defined in accordance with the definition the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states it to be: [The] capacity of rational agents to choose a course of action from among various alternatives. [1] This definition, philosophical in nature considering the topic, deliberately specifies rationality. It displays the necessity for these individuals to be capable of reasoning, and therefore from that reasoning, is then capable of choosing an option amongst other options to demonstrate the ability of free will.

To ensure the complete understanding of my argument, I will define the other terms within the resolution. Science, as defined by the Oxford Living Dictionary, is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. [2] This also includes social sciences in consideration that humans, also, are a part of the natural world. And to further elucidate, "leave no room for" shall be considered to mean that every action and decision are already determined by undue forces, and science demonstrates this.

To argue for the matter of free will, one must show that this decision is not caused by an undue force and is dependent upon the reasoning of the rational agent. Implications of arguing for free will lies in the fact that everything that is done is based on the accumulation of cause and effect incidences, shaping us, and ultimately being the leading factor for why an individual may even turn left rather than right. In other words, action is contingent on an undue force.

And while options remain to do "A" instead of "B" or "C" instead of "D," the availability of option does not reinforce the idea of free will when the decision in and of itself is based on forces external and internal. To elaborate, it'll be argued from the very beginning.

Regardless of one's individual beliefs, science points to a singularity known as the "Big Bang." The resolution does not state to demonstrate whether the theory is accurate or inaccurate, so describing the science and evidences of said event shall be avoided. Instead, let it be known that the scientific community accepts the Big Bang theory, and thus it shall be argued as if it were true for the sake of the argument on the actual matter at hand.

Billions of years ago, space inflated as if it were a balloon, allowing everything needed, all the building blocks such as atoms, to come into existence. The Big Bang was the cause, and everything coming into existence was the effect. From there, more causes, more effects. Eventually, a star exploded, another cause, that released gas and dust. This explosion reached a gas cloud, and from this cause allowed the conditions necessary for our solar system to emerge. This incident allowed the birth of our sun, and from the planetesimals made from the sun came the earth. More cause and effect. [3]

When the earth formed, abiogenesis, another theory I will barely explain as it branches from the main topic, allowed for life from inorganic materials. It created the basis of life, and from there evolution shaped it. Mutations, genetic drift, etc., expressed the changes necessary for speciation along a macroevolutionary line to eventually establish the present-day species (which are still undergoing evolution; it does not stop.) All of these came from a long line of cause and effect as well.

Amidst the changes garnered from the evolutionary processes came the development and structure of the brain. The brain, for instance, has both physical and cognitive occurrences. The main focus shall be on the basis of cognitive development, which is in the realm of learning processes, storing and retaining information in memory processes, the like. Most of these can be found in the forebrain. In the frontal lobes are the advanced form of thoughts, such as abstract thinking, reasoning, and remembering. The brain controls these features.