I personally don't think humans have free will. I believe humans actually lack the ability to 'decide' their actions. Sure, humans appear to make their decisions, but one has to realise that every 'decision' we make is based upon our experience of the world, which is based upon external factors which we have no control over.

One person's brain is composed of the same atoms as any other person. Barring any genetic mutations, which are uncontrollable anyway, humans are more or less born with the same state of mind. The difference in each individual is caused by the unique 'experience' that each individual goes through.

We make decisions based on what we know. Our knowledge originates from external stimuli. Our brains are clouded by our limited perspective of the world. We don't choose what we percieve. We just percieve what we come across. These perceptions are then combined with other perceptions & innate instincts and our brains uses those [external] factors to form what we call 'decisions'.

With all that said, I can confidently say that every choice/decision is absolutely determined by factors out of our control. If if we do have some control over our decisions, which we don't, one cannot deny the presence external stimuli as a large factor in affecting our choices in life, thus, affecting our personality.

With that said, one could say that the only thing that differs people are the things we come across, not who we are. The only thing that makes me any different from a prisoner is the different occurences we've experienced, I just had a better state of mind caused by a more fortunate experience with the world.

Thoughts?

The question is, is "will" not just something that one wants to do? Simply that? Regardless of the reason why we want to do it?

We can almost do everything we want in this World, problem is that sometimes we can only do it once.

Some wishes like becoming the Pope are kind of unlikely to happen, no matter how hard you suck that Bible.

So if I wanted to kill some one, I could just blame it on factors out of my control?

Only if the shrink says so.

i have a free willy.

You don't, otherwise it wouldn't be free.

What would exist there if no environment and biological output would exist? Do you think that a personality could exist without any of those two?

The fact that I can decide whether I post this comment before or after I go to the bathroom proves that there is a will I can decide to exercise or not.

If you have been thinking about existencialism and how we are driven to take choices based in predetermined factors, I think that even there we have options. If you are thinking about an existence were only what we desire to see, feel, imagine, etc. exists, that will be a good trip for you, but beyond some psychodelic work of fiction material, I don't see much you will be able to get from that.

If that is the definition being discussed, then you are right, there isn''t. But there must be a clear concensus about the definition, and the reason of why we are discussing it could help a lot, for example: God, did you really give us a free will? <== That would be a good discussion. :D