Hello guys. I have a question. So I’ve heard many athiests say that we don’t have free will. I have a question: What does this imply about the meaning of life? What is the purpose of being here, if I can’t even decide what I do? Something I’ve been into recently is self-imprivment, but why should I feel proud about myself for that if I didn’t decide to do it? Why should I feel proud about anything? I’m really scared and frustrated about this. I need help understanding
@Rohan01, does it feel to you like you have free will? Does it seem to you that you are making decisions about things? Do consider yourself responsible for your actions?
I suspect you will answer “yes” to those questions. And that’s what matters.
There are things that, while they may be true, have little if any substantive effect on the day to day of our lives. Whether or not we actually have free will is irrelevant.
Live your life as you see fit and leave the question of free will to neurobiologists and philosophers.
2 Likes
It doesn’t matter what I “feel like”, what matters is the truth.
1 Like
I’ve been reading about this for the past hour or so, and one thing I’ve heard by a few people is that freedom of choice is different than free will. Do you guys think this is true?
Why do you assume life has a purpose? Beyond the subjective significance we attach to it, I mean.
Free will, and relative autonomy of choice, are not the same thing.
Does it make you feel better? Personally I like a drink, or damn good meal, but horses for courses.
Ok, take a deep breath, and stop worrying.
They’re not mutually exclusive.
Yes, see above…
What I should’ve asked was “does life have a purpose then?” Also, what makes me feel better doesnt matter, as I explained earlier. What matters is the truth.
Btw I didn’t meant to quote that, my bad
Better, but personally I’d go with, what objective evidence can anyone demonstrate, that the presence of life has any overarching purpose?
Indeed, and as I responded, the two are not mutually exclusive. What I am saying is it makes more sense to try and be happy with the truth, than to create a delusion that makes you happy, as that can be taken away.
Not at all, I think it shows a rare literary panache on my part.
So are you a nihilist?
Not necessarily, a nihilist is defined as “a person who believes that life is meaningless, and rejects all religious and moral principles.”
Firstly I just explained that my life can and does have subjective meaning to me, as do the lives of others of course, I just don’t believe that the existence of life fulfils some overarching purpose,
Religious morality may occasionally overlap my own, but I don’t believe that moral absolutes have been handed to us through divine diktat, so they carry no more weight that any other moral proclamations.
3 Likes
Let me ask you some questions
-
I can’t tell if you believe in free will and/or free choice or not. Do you believe that humans can make some choices freely, being able to decide between two or more options?
-
If you don’t, then how do you find meaning in you’re life? Be specific.
-
What advice do you have for me? If we don’t have free will, I feel like it takes almost everything away from my life. I can no longer truly feel proud of myself, can’t feel regret, and can’t feel that I’ve truly improved and gained more discipline in my life, even though I’ve been on a self-improvement journey. How do I handle this feeling? Did you ever struggle with this, or am I just overthinking? Please let me know, because I just want to go back to having a great summer.
“Hello guys. I have a question. So I’ve heard many athiests say that we don’t have free will.”
Where?
Can you make that a little more comprehensible?
1 Like
@Old_man_shouts_at_cl … if this is who I think it is, you’ll find he gets to the point quickly.
The name is familiar from previous outings at, for example, the now defunct Richard Dawkins Forums, where he had fun poking sticks at creationists. 
@Gawdzilla_Sama … how are the cats doing?
Pull up a chair. The regulars here have an individual sense of humour. Observe and note accordingly. They’ll soon discover you’re handy to have around.
Oh, and the posting tools here are decent if you’re using a desktop or laptop, a bit more fiddly on a tablet. The tags are similar to the Rationalia ones. There’s a guide if you need it.
My recommendation is to copy and paste into a text editor, and use previews a lot until you’re happy with the setup. We have chew toys.
1 Like
Whenever I’ve watched Life of Brian(it’s been a while) my wife won’t even be in same room, it’s that offensive to her beliefs.
I still have my “honk if you love Brian” bumper sticker that we were given after we (I was with a friend) saw the movie in Hollywood. It’s stashed away in my garage.
This one guy Sam Harris, a few prominent Youtubers, and on a poll it said 32 percent of athiests.
With the correct spelling of atheists?
1 Like
Observation doesn’t induce action so I could accept that we have free will if an omniscient god/creator exists as long as “god” is an observer only. However, the general Christian view of god is one that continually interacts with mankind whether subtly or extraordinarily. Any interaction, no matter how perceivably minor, would alter one’s path, away from the path one would’ve travelled had god not interacted in the first place. Thereby removing free will as one’s choices would not be entire one’s own.
As far as purpose is concerned, do what makes you happy and doesn’t cause harm to others or infringe on the freedoms of others. It’s up to you to find your own purpose.