Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

In previous epochs, people thought their lives were dictated by fate. Even today, intelligent sophists propose we're all in a giant computer simulation where everything we do is predictable. Contrarily, Free Will is the belief that your life results from the decisions you make, not some preordained script. The confusion comes because luck plays such an important role in every outcome, so it can easily be confused with divine interference. The concept of Free Will is a relatively new phenomena, only espoused the few hundred years since The Enlightenment. Western culture was founded on it even though the majority of the people were still enthralled by fate. As time went by, Free Will gained strength but it requires freedom, and opportunity to act, which is why it's an integral part of liberty.

Liberty only makes sense in the context of Free Will; if you're not making decisions for yourself, what you think is in your best interest given the knowledge you currently have, then you don't really have liberty. Unfortunately, Free Will or not, some people don’t have the intellectual ability to make conscientious decisions for themselves, and many more are uncomfortable being responsible for their own lives. The result in a democracy is that it’s not uncommon for cowardly groups to become a majority, voluntarily surrendering everyone’s Free Will so that they don't have to exercise theirs.