Free Will By Choice Research Paper

Free Will by Choice

Do we truly have free will? It is the ability to make a decision without hindrance. Human nature, neuroscience, and everyday life are contributing factors to free will.

Human nature deals decisions that focus on the awareness of the conscious mind. For instance, free will enables humans to control and carry out their own decisions. Contrary to Freud’s belief, free will is dependent upon personal “motives, convictions, and intentions.” To specify, external forces do not completely establish human behavior (Hanaan, Radhakrishna 355). Given the ability of free will, human nature cannot cloud the conscious mind. Common actions of humans can be rewritten through retraining the brain. Brian Garvey, from Lancaster University, mentioned from Free Will and Human Nature

Roles, “If we are programmed to be what we are, then these traits are ineluctable. We may, at best, channel them, but we cannot change them either by will, education, will, or culture. (Gould 1978, p. 238)” In respect to free will, we are not pre-programmed as humans, we have the ability to decide: what to do, what to say, where to go, what to wear, and whom we choose to befriend. Free will is an open door full of exploration to create ones own human nature. Unfortunately, free will and human nature will be clouded in certain instances.
During the Holocaust, genocide was a huge factor that played against human nature and in and out groups. Genocide predominantly clouded free will. The Germans raised troops and ‘brainwashed’ them into believing killing was natural. Propaganda was shoved down the German citizens throats. It was believed only the blonde hair and blue-eyed people were qualified to survive. This caused a lack of judgment and dehumanization. Germans who fit that phenotype were looked upon at a higher standard. A schoolteacher produced an experiment to inform children on the importance of equality and empathy towards others. By providing citizens with proper knowledge allows citizens to freely make rash ethical decisions; promoting free will. For starters, during the Holocaust the Germans raised troops and brainwashed (fabricated the truth) them into believing “killing was natural”. Propaganda was shoved down the German citizens throats that blonde hair and blue-eyed people were the only ones qualified to survive. Germans who fit that phenotype were looked upon at a higher standard. This caused a lack of judgment and dehumanization. To illustrate, human nature believes killing is wrong.
However, brainwashing taps into the mind, causing an unnatural reaction. Choosing to kill leads to jail time and a criminal record. Fritz Stern was a native of Germany during World War II. There was an escalation or annihilation of European Jews. Inside an intense hate festered inside of his soul, known as human nature. Collectively he could not bring himself to pronounce brainwashed German citizens guilty entirely. Nerveless, the “their purposes have not been ours” (Marjorie Lamberti pg 402). However, we have the ability to freely choose to kill or not to kill; every choice has a consequence. The root of human nature was not to kill, the citizens were held captive by the contrary concept. Scientists revealed the link between brain activity and free will.
An exercise was conducted called the Blue eyed Brown Eyed Exercise. A teacher by the name, Jane Elliot, told her class that the blue-eyed students were to be treated at a higher standard than the brown-eyed students. In this exercise the students were no longer able to interact amongst varied eye colors. A blue-eyed student went out of his way to say, “Well, what do you expect from him, Mrs. Elliott," a brown-eyed student said as a blue-eyed student got an arithmetic problem wrong. "He's a bluey"(Eagleman 2015). On the next day the roles were reversed. Every brown-eyed student was moved towards the front of the classroom. The difference was the brown-eyed kids felt emotional deprivation and were filled with empathy toward the blue-eyed students and treated them as equals. Jane Elliot’s main take home point was equality and to respect others despite their outward appearance. Human nature of the blue-eyed students were to discriminate, after the experiment their thought process was changed. This experiment showed human nature does not control free will. The blue-eyed students were then able to consciously choose to treat the brown-eyed students equally after the experiment. Factors associated with human nature, such as free will are able to be consciously decided upon.
Neuroscience showed free will begins in the pre-frontal cortex (PFC). In the brain neurons are simulated through choice. Accordingly, in the PFC the brain undergoes rational analysis, where it continues on towards the supplementary motor area (SMA). Before each decision the conscious mind initiates use of the amygdala known as instinct (Hanaan, Radhakrishna 364). The amygdala is responsible for establishing fear and emotion. Human nature plays a role in common ways of thinking, feeling, and acting (Merriam Webster 2016).
An experiment was tested using a neurotransmitter device and a clock.

After a complete rotation of the clock, approximately 2.56 seconds, the test subject was told to tap their wrist on the table. It was testing the point the tester consciously ‘chose’ to tap their wrist on the desk, followed by muscular reaction. The test subject was told to report a W when they consciously decided to move and M when they actually moved. Test results showed they consciously decided to move on the 5 on the clock. By the time motor function occurred the clock was at 25. In total the delayed motor movement was approximately 201 milliseconds. Judged movement lagged behind 74 milliseconds. “Trans-cranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) over the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA) delayed the movement by an average of 113 milliseconds, and the awareness by 54 milliseconds” (Haggared 361). Voluntary movements (conscious decisions) were scientifically discovered to have a slower reaction of the brain. When the brain consciously made the decision to move the body lapsed slightly in time. When actions enter the unconscious mind movement becomes quicker and easier to process. This process is known as involuntary

movement.
An example from Brainwashed is the cup stacking challenge. Austin Naber is the world’s fastest cup stacker in the age ten brackets. The reason he was able to stack at the world’s fastest rate was because cup stacking entered his unconscious mind. Dr. Josè Luis Contreras-Vidal connected an electrode cap on Austin. This machine was connected to an Electronic Encephalogram or EEG. The EEG measured brainwaves and measured the amount of energy it took to perform the task (Eagleman pg 76). Components who were newly joined cup stacking still recognized it consciously in their brain. In the mind of new cup stackers their brain recognized the movements as ‘new.’ New events take the brain longer to process because they have to mentally concentrate on the activity. Austin, however, lucked out cup stacking entered his brain as an old’ unconscious activity. He was able to stack without his brain deeply concentrating on his actions. David Engelmann quoted, “Our conscious minds are really just a summary of what our brains get up to all the time” (Eagleman pg 84). Through thousands of reps Austin was able to turn cup stacking into an unconscious movement.
Everyday life incorporated the chance to make a conscious decision upon free will. Free will enables all to act upon their internal desires. For instance, people have the option to steal or pay for a product with present money. Those who choose to steal, along with other offenses, showed in studies to have a reverse sense of morality and equality. Instances presented in the courtroom, people have watched judges suppress evidence and free the guilty (Sally Satel, Scott O. Lilienfeld 144). Judges in the courtroom have the ability to freely choose how they abjure a case. Human nature inclines a judge to follow protocol and include all the evidence in a case to make a valid decision. If a judge freely chooses to make impulse decision to leave out evidence and let the perpetrator walk, the judge risks their title. Brainwashed mentioned, “People want punishment to incapacitate and deter, but their sense of justice requires sentences proportional to the moral severity of the crime,” (Sally Satel, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Margret Talbot 140). Free will allows each individual to consciously decide to adhere to moral responsibility or to follow his or her own desire.
Furthermore, moral responsibility is connected to everyday life. Society norms include valuing victims as people. A serial rapist by the name, John violated Mary. John was found guilty by the state judiciary system. Later, he received ‘Castrex’ to remove all thoughts of rape; the effects of the drug were successful. John was later released and was not a threat to society. Upon the release of John, the judiciary system failed to see the emotional toll it took on Mary and her family. Even though John was free Mary was emotionally trapped in fear after he rejoined society (Sally Satel, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Margret Talbot 141). The family was enraged, it is thought “those who do not pay debt,” should be reinitiated. Whether or not the victim’s family revenges, is called free will. To choose revenge is human nature. In the Christian religion, revenge is looked as a sin. Matthew 5:44 states, “Love your enemy as your self, and pray for those who persecute you.” This is an act of that goes against human nature, but as humans we are able to chose whatever we want even if it goes against human nature. Additionally, free will is free choice and the underlying process of how humans make daily choices.
Human Nature, Neuroscience, and everyday life connect to free will and humans have free will to make decisions without restriction.