Appreciate the thoughtful comment. Yes, under the hood indeed "every physical system is quantum", yet at the macro level physical systems are more or less predictable, including the brain. The brain's immensely complex structure and extensive interactivity make understanding how it works largely a mystery. The relatively simplistic models we're able to create have so far illuminate only a small part of its functionality.
The idea of free will has been a subject of eternal debate. I suspect this reflects lack of consistent definition. I would posit that free will isn't absolute but necessarily constrained by the nature of individual exercising its will. The stochastic attributes of a system or entity mean its actions are to an extent unpredictable, providing an "opening" for willful behavior.
Humans imagine they have free will because they're aware of their decisions or actions while unaware of the range of factors contributing to a decision or action. Intuitive (vs. analytical) cognition is the operational default. By definition intuition is a computation occurring outside of the person's awareness.[0] Consequently, it augments the impression of exercising unfettered free will.
Perhaps it's most accurate to say we have will or volition but not free of constraints imposed by our biology and physical/social environments. While the randomness inherent in biological systems allows volition to evolve, it also limits what an organism can will itself to do.
[0] Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making 2017, Volume 11, Number 1, March 2017, pp. 5–22
> Perhaps it's most accurate to say we have will or volition but not free of constraints imposed by our biology and physical/social environments.
You might be talking about compatiblism.
> Humans imagine they have free will because they're aware of their decisions or actions while unaware of the range of factors contributing to a decision or action.
Or more likely there’s no evolutionary fitness benefit to being able to understand this, and perhaps it’s even detrimental if it leads to nihilistic or egocentric impulses.
Except that the brain is not predictable at all, this is one of the first things you would know. You can say the definition of free will is not "consistent", but my problem is deeper and more reasonable: People just assume for no reason they can talk about free will, while they can't talk about conscience. As free will is a property of being conscious, people should shut up about free will before they can explain both causally and ontologically the consciousness phenomena.
But I'm afraid they will not.
The idea of free will has been a subject of eternal debate. I suspect this reflects lack of consistent definition. I would posit that free will isn't absolute but necessarily constrained by the nature of individual exercising its will. The stochastic attributes of a system or entity mean its actions are to an extent unpredictable, providing an "opening" for willful behavior.
Humans imagine they have free will because they're aware of their decisions or actions while unaware of the range of factors contributing to a decision or action. Intuitive (vs. analytical) cognition is the operational default. By definition intuition is a computation occurring outside of the person's awareness.[0] Consequently, it augments the impression of exercising unfettered free will.
Perhaps it's most accurate to say we have will or volition but not free of constraints imposed by our biology and physical/social environments. While the randomness inherent in biological systems allows volition to evolve, it also limits what an organism can will itself to do.
[0] Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making 2017, Volume 11, Number 1, March 2017, pp. 5–22