Do we really make our own choices?
How to know?
shareI think we only have a spectrum of choice.. Depending on how someone is born, or develops, there are certain things mentally and/or physically one can't do.
share
MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Do we really make our own choices?
Is everything pre-ordained? We’ll never know because I may have been compelled to write this by sone higher power.
shareLike the rat in its maze we are free to make our own choices...
I post, therefore I am. 🤔
sharei would say almost certainly no, not in any meaningful way.
i think the analogy that often gets trotted out regarding free will is that, if we do have it to any extent, it's like an ant trying to guide an elephant.
Perhaps some have it more than others? Like some elephants are guided by birds.
shareYes, of course we make our own choices
The Gods seem to be preoccupied and I don't need some 'God' sort making stuff up for me to do
Some of us made bad choices a long time ago, but there is enough time yet to fix it all and make things right
We are responsible for the things we did...legally, physically and mentally we all must pay for the damage we left in our wake
I'm doing a huge business being nice and helpful to people these days...total strangers in need are my specialty
A woman I hardly know called me a 'Gentleman' for carrying her supplies to her office just the other day in the rain...this made me smile:)
A homeless guy in The Bronx asked me for the last puff of my cigarette last week on the corner where I smoke so I gave him a few cigs and a book of matches...He called me 'brother'
I recently bumped into a young boy (14 maybe?) that was feuding with his older brother about a girl they both fancy...I talked him out of fisticuffs and smoothed it over and they are both safe and OK
WE are the 'gods'
We shape the world as we see fit
Some of us do, some of the time.
Some choices are made freely and consciously. Some choices are made according to rules we learned earlier in life (which really means letting others choose for you), and sometimes people just react without thinking.
Honestly I dont think it really matters whether the choices we made are free-willed or not, because we never EVER know what the consequences of a choice or action will be. Even when we're sure we know.
It's all relative. Someone born to wealthy parents has a lot more choices than someone born in poverty. Opportunities to improve ourselves vary as well dependent on status, personality, natural ability etc.
Although you could argue that ultimately each individual chooses for themselves you really have to wonder how much their environment played a part in leading to those choices. EG: If you're born to a crime family, surrounded by crime throughout your upbringing I would say that you have a greater chance of choosing crime than someone who had little to nothing to do with it growing up.