>>17659385>>17659486>>17659518>>17659521Free will exists if you exist. Those who say it doesn't exist are really saying there's no such thing as a human being, only natural forces, and individuality itself is an illusion. There's some truth to that, people often point to the state's ability to control life as evidence that man is reducible. A forest can be burnt down, but that doesn't disprove the existence of leaves. Although primal forces are involved in our existence, the human body is a sophisticated decisionmaker, designed to exercise a high degree of will.
The search for "true" "free" will is really the search for total agency not influenced by anything, to go against natural forces and not contend with the will of others. This hypothetical freedom is without any natural precedent, it's philosophical only. Most discussion of it languishes in confusion about how multiple wills can influence one another, yet still exist as distinct individuals. If you accept that the world exists, man exists, and living men are responsible for their actions, the whole thing is a lot easier to understand.
