“Do people have free will? If we have free will, where in the evolutionary tree did it develop? Do blue-green algae or bacteria have free will, or is their behavior automatic and within the realm of scientific law? Is it only multicelled organisms that have free will, or only mammals? We might think that a chimpanzee is exercising free will when it chooses to chomp on a banana, or a cat when it rips up your sofa, but what about the roundworm called Caenorhabditis elegans—a simple creature made of only 959 cells? It probably never thinks, “That was damn tasty bacteria I got to dine on back there,” yet it too has a definite preference in food and will either settle for an unattractive meal or go foraging for something better, depending on recent experience. Is that the exercise of free will?

Though we feel that we can choose what we do, our understanding of the molecular basis of biology shows that biological processes are governed by the laws of physics and chemistry and therefore are as determined as the orbits of the planets. Recent experiments in neuroscience support the view that it is our physical brain, following the known laws of science, that determines our actions, and not some agency that exists outside those laws. For example, a study of patients undergoing awake brain surgery found that by electrically stimulating the appropriate regions of the brain, one could create in the patient the desire to move the hand, arm, or foot, or to move the lips and talk. It is hard to imagine how free will can operate if our behavior is determined by physical law, so it seems that we are no more than biological machines and that free will is just an illusion.”

I saw a feral cat "choose" not to run from me because he thought I had food.

Was that a choice or was he simply following his instincts?

It's my thought if we humans do have free will it developed along with language.

His instincts told him to run. He chose to not run.

Oh ffs...who or what do you think compelled you to post that thought if it wasn't of your own free will?? frustrated

Lol, the cavemen I know would all run and hide from butterflies. Free will is wasted on them.bigsmile

A series of algorithms so complex it actually fools me into believing what I'm doing is thinking. But, there's no evidence that I'm actually thinking, I have no proof of it. Indeed, all the evidence we have suggests the opposite is true, that we do not think, but only operate on instinct.

Before these people were tested, they chose to allow themselves to be tested. This is free will. Unless of course they were forced to be tested by psychiatric doctors or were soldiers commanded to be tested. Why do you think fw developed with language?

I think free will is any action which goes against our primitive instincts. When the 17 year old girl throws herself at you, it's free will to refuse her advance, it's animal instinct to take her.

It's the instinct of self preservation showing up in a more complex way.

If an attractive woman is throwing herself at you self preservation is the ONLY thing that might stop you. In this case, sex with her could mean prison,being labeled a sex criminal and having to register every time you move. If you're married, it could ruin that and you'd end up losing half (if not more) of everything. All this would effect your ability to maintain the life you've built, not to mention you could be killed by an irate father or crazy man i prison.

Fear is a prime motivator.