On Free Will: Does People’s Autonomy Truly Matter In Life?
by Blog Contributor | December 18, 2023 | Life Journey | 0 Comments
Photo by Nathan McBride on Unsplash
People’s free will is an age-old debate that still divides opinions. But in a world where the grapple between good and evil is tough, does it even matter?
Are people truthfully the authors of their stories?
Whether they’re religious or not, most believe everyone has free will. They assume everyone’s capacity to choose their actions and motivations freely and if they must side between right or wrong. In religious connotations, this freedom is called moral capacity – people’s ability to recognize the good from its opposition and pursue it. Hence, while free will dictates that people have the ultimate freedom to choose and chase after whatever they want, it still merits their desires won’t compel them.
The Nature Of Free Will And Goodness
Author Mary Venable Vaughn writes about people and their choices in her book Stepping Into Discipleship. It contains a thorough breakdown and account of complex religious topics, such as the scuffle between good and evil, God and Satan. She highlights that while people have been given free will and the liberty to decide independently, God has ministered and directed them in the right direction.
However, there will be moments when they lose their way.
God has given people free will to show His love for them. But there are instances when they have taken this love and turned it into something else that causes pain and gloom in others.
People ask: “If there’s God, why do wars and suffering exist?” And it makes others ponder about what to answer. After all, it does convey a bit of veracity to it.
If God cared and loved humanity, why does He allow destruction to befall them? However, the answer is simple, precisely because of this. God had given people the autonomy to live life how they will, and some have, unfortunately, wasted this freedom and treaded on the wrong path.
God might have given free will, but he has given people the ability to take accountability.
The freedom to make decisions doesn’t pull people away from responsibility. Instead, it even puts a heavier weight on people to take the blame for their choices. Free will accounts for people’s conviction in taking control of their destiny. Knowing they hold everything in their hands includes the accountability of possible consequences of the choices made.
This Freedom vs. Causal Determinism
But where does the skepticism about free will come from?
Regardless of which side people fall under, life can still be filled with meaning and lived fully, depending on how people take charge. Both sides offer profound realizations that aid with how people perceive life more significantly.
Most people believe they have the ultimate freedom over their lives and the autonomy to forge their path toward its completion. They acknowledge its double-edged sword nature, that while free to do what they will, they must face the consequences and blame for this freedom. They’ve come to accept that this liberty comes with the accountability for choosing the good or bad.
On the other hand, others believe in the impossibility of this freedom. They understand that everything happens because of antecedent conditions. This suggests that people’s decisions aren’t unlimited. Instead, these are already predetermined by the previous events that built up or molded their lives to where they are. Hence, people don’t have the ultimate liberty to become or choose their lives, for it has already been drawn and concluded the moment they were born.
The argument lies on whether people’s lives are predetermined or how these unfold rely on individuals. It falls between believing that the world has governing laws that predict action, if the universe already has its plans and people are acting this out, and if people have complete autonomy.
The Important Bottomline
However, the question shouldn’t be whether people genuinely have free will or if their lives are an organized string of events. Instead, it should be about whether people will choose to do good or not. It matters less if people live on their own accord or are merely going along the universe’s plan but more if they’re siding with goodness or the contrary.
After all, the theological motivations behind their actions should matter less than considering whether these will do more good.
