badgenome said:
But that doesn't preclude free will. If anything, it's a demonstration of it. Because someone may find it more profoundly fulfilling to not indulge themselves doesn't mean there isn't still a constant battle of will power to not do those things. They are exercising their will to do something that isn't easy. An animal can't do anything other than what it wants to do, therefore it doesn't have a free will. Whereas a person can very easily do just what he wants, or he can - with some degree of effort - do the exact opposite. |
I agree with the first part (more or less), but animals make also decisions. They are not simply instinct-machines.
Basically, we humans and the animals MOSTLY decide for what was most successful in our evolution (and that's not always about maximizing our personal profit), so the free will might be an illusion from this point of view. But mostly our options are plenty and it's hard to predict how someone will decide and decisions will differ between people. So the assumption of free will is a good explanation for our behaviour anyways.
