Determinism Vs. Free Will

The power of a rational human being is the ability to make choices. These choices and your ability to choose, is the existence of your free will. Though this free will exists and you are able to make your own decisions, the future remains inevitable. The past is constantly being created, as the cycle of time continues. With this given past, there will only be one actual inevitable future. This notion is what philosophers call a deterministic world. How can free will be compatible with this world, is the question. I am arguing that a deterministic world can contain individuals that have the ability to make choices among a variety of options, while the actual choices made is already determined.

My first premise is, free will is the ability to

If free will is the ability to do otherwise, the future could be different. If determinism is true and with a given past there could only be one given future, then free will is not compatible with determinism. In response to this objection, I proclaim that the ability of choice would not create an alternative future. Having the ability of free will is different from lacking it, in the quantity of open options that are presented. When experiencing lack of free will, only one possible open option is presented, therefore only one decision would be made and is consistent with a deterministic world. When free will is in effect, multiple options are present, and regardless of the possibilities, the actual choice made would always be consistent with the determined future. Therefore, though free will and lack of free will are different, the inevitable future remains constant. It is true that in a deterministic world there could be no alternative future; the appearance of choices does not hinder this truth. The deterministic force is knowledgeable of all the outcomes performed by free will, therefore all choices made by free will are inevitable. However, the individual making the choice is never knowledgeable of the final

For instance, I have to choose from options a, b, or c, and in the deterministic world the outcome will be c. The ability of choice is governed by my desires and beliefs, and I desired to choose c. My choice was made by free will and is consistent with a deterministic force. However, if I would have desired to choose b and so the outcome became b, then the determined future would have never been c to begin with. By making that choice, it becomes part of the past, and therefore is concise with that given future. Though the future is uncertain to mankind, the deterministic force ultimately knows all outcomes. Mankind still has the ability to make a choice, though it is an inevitable