The concept of free will is very basic. When a man is faced by two or more different alternatives, he supposedly has the ability of independently make a decision. This makes us able to tell him that: "You should not have murdered that man. You could have chosen to not murder him, yet you chose to do it." In other words, we are able to accuse him of making the "wrong" decision. To the great masses all of this is (or at least should be, according to them) something obvious, but to me this makes no sense.

Let's begin with going through the basics of how to make a decision. A kid goes to the store and is faced with two options: Buying a Coke for one dollar or some candy for at least 50 cent. On one hand, he can save 50 cent by buying candy, but he is also confident that he would enjoy the Coke more since it's a sunny day. In the end though, he goes for the candy since he want to be able to buy candy tomorrow as well. But did the kid make this decision? No. All he did was acting according to personal preference. Had it been even warmer outside, he would probably have made a different decision, but in this case he would prefer to enjoy candy the next day as well. The decision was already made through previous and current sensory input which shaped his preferences. Thus, selecting the Coke was not an option.

This goes for every single decision we make throughout our lives. We search through our past and choose whatever matches our personal preferences the most. We were not ever able to make any decisions independently, because preference is not something you choose. That would be like saying: "Today my favorite colour shall be green." when in reality you know that red will always be your favorite. You can't "choose" otherwise.

This is why I don't think it makes any sense to say that the previously mentioned murderer made the "wrong decision". All he did was to act according to personal preference just like everybody else does every single day. We can say that his actions were awful and that actions need to be made so that he won't do something similar again, but we can't blame him for acting according to preference, just like we can't blame anyone for liking whichever sports team he may prefer.

To sum it up: Every single decision you make is entirely based on your personal preference, which you can't overlook. Humans will always seek for the greatest possible amount of profit through their actions, and whatever that profit consists of is based on that very same personal preference.

A behaviorist, eh?

Well, I'd argue with you, but I'm too busy right now to apply the proper regimen of cookies, spray-bottle squirts, and newspaper swats that it would take to change your mind.

Yes, uncontrollable factors are significant factors to a person's behavior, but to many people, this does not invalidate their definition of free will.

I'd like to hear their reasoning. After all, personal preference is nothing but uncontrollable.

Sure. He's always reasonable.

I decided to bite my lip just now and make a crazy face. Just to see if I could do it. Nothing stopped me. I don't have a propensity for biting my lip randomly. I just did it. Did you mind control me into biting my lip instead of rolling around on the floor?

I don't know about you but my every moment is a battle between what I need to do, what I want to do, and what I can put off until later. I wanted to cut my grass. I had the ability and the opportunity to do it. Instead, I decided to laze around all day. It was my option. On another day, you couldn't stop me from doing it. Now, I'm thinking about paying somebody to do it. Even I don't know which one I'll go with. Depends on my mood, I guess. Depends on if I have the will to do it.

Exactly. Different circumstances makes different preferences.

Yes, the kid did make a decision. He could have decided to buy the Coke anyway. Just because, in the absence of coercion, you tend to make decisions based on your personal preferences doesn't mean you can't still choose differently. It's just that... why would you?

or the third option steal both and save the doller.