On Free Will
Our ability to make voluntary decisions, also known as free will, is one of the most vital aspects of human life. Most people, when prompted, tend to believe in free will and moral responsibility (Nahmias et al, 2005), yet many psychologists claim this intuition is wrong. Some research indicates that choices are determined by “nudges” to a certain outcome (Sunstein, 2022), and therefore external factors influence our choices far more than any cognitive process. This argument aligns with the knowledge that consciousness is rooted in neural coding and preconceived notions (Johansson, 2005), if consciousness and free will are intertwined. However, these arguments are misguided; although outside influences do shift the decisions we make, the decision itself is still implemented by deliberate, physiological processes in the brain. Therefore, free will is a well-established component of neurocognitive awareness, even when not within direct conscious thought. It is well establi...