People do not have free will.

Thanks, Ockham. Let's begin. Our brain tells us what to do, how to feel, what to think, etc. Indeed the only reason I can even type this argument is because my brain is communicating with the rest of the muscles in my body via the nervous system, allowing my body to follow its commands. Most of this is subconscious. But every time a person makes a decision, it is dependent upon their brain - specifically whatever information has been input. We cannot think of anything that is not influenced (determined) by outside factors that we have not already been exposed to. Environment plus biology necessitate your actions. You're just reacting to stimuli; your brain learns reactions as time goes by, thus developing personality. We know that personality is part biology (traits determined by genetics) and part environment (experiences and outside stimuli) [1]. If your personality is dictated by nature and nurture, then so are your choices, meaning your choices are determined by antecedent states of affairs. Now, if our choices are dictated by genetics and stimuli, clearly we have no control over them. We cannot control the genetics that make us who we are, nor the experiences that we have. "Heredity establishes the limits of one's personality traits that can be developed, while the environment - represented by the cultural, social and situational factors - influence the actual development within the limits... Cultural factors are related to the cultural values earned by someone in the course of his/her life, especially during the period when his/her personality is formed. These cultural values have a great impact upon an individual's behavior... Situational factors emphasize or diminish some aspects of one's personality. For example, a person that has experienced recently one failure after another would not wish to be involved in another project - at least for a period of time - even if this particular one might be successful" [2]. Another example: if one is genetically predisposed to schizophrenia, they cannot will themselves to NOT have schizophrenia. Thus, this is just one example proving how our brain has a "mind of its own." It controls us, not the other way around. The human being is at the mercy of these forces - behavioral factors and genetics - and we are simply the instrument through which they are expressed. Consider this: If a person is on a strict diet, they have a desire or urge to eat to appease the hunger, but may choose not to eat. The choice could go either way. However prior actions and states of affairs dictate the person's inevitable reaction in that case. For example, the person's choice to not eat would be based on the fact that they're trying to lose weight; their trying to lose weight would be based on the fact that they no longer fit in their clothes; they may no longer fit in their clothes because they got depressed and started eating more; they may have been depressed because they ended a serious relationship; the relationship may have ended because one's partner found someone else at Comic Con; the partner's choice to attend Comic Con led to that... etc. And similarly, if the person chose to eat and ignore their diet, it might be based on the fact that they were craving sugar at that particular time; they may have been craving sugar because they hadn't eaten in 16 hours; they might not have eaten because they were busy with work; they were busy with work because they chose that particular job; etc. Everything in the universe aligned to put the individual in the position to make a necessary and specific decision. This concept is supported not only at the psychological level, but also at the physical, scientific level in measuring quantum mechanics. For example the De Broglie-Bohm Theory and the many-worlds interpretation theory posit that quantum mechanics proves determinism. The Bohm interpretation posits that every particle has a definite position and momentum at all times, but we do not usually know what they are, though we do have limited information about them. The particles are guided by the wave function, which follows the Schrodinger equation [3]. Contrary stances on quantum mechanics, such as the Copenhagen interpretation call for an indetermined universe. "Indeterminism is important for the question of free will because strict determinism implies just one possible future. Indeterminism means that the future is unpredictable. Indeterminism allows alternative futures and the question becomes how the one actual present is realized from these potential alternatives." However just because the universe might have more than one possible outcome, indeterminism STILL does not allow for free will - thus the resolution would be affirmed even if you don't accept determinism, according to virtually every credible study on quantum physics. I will expand on this further if my opponent contests. The only other possible alternatives (according to current standards of science) is chaos theory. "Chaos theory describes how a deterministic system can exhibit perplexing behavior that is difficult to predict: as in the butterfly effect, minor variations between the starting conditions of two systems can result in major differences. Yet chaos theory is a wholly deterministic thesis; it merely demonstrates the potential for vastly different consequences from very similar initial conditions. Properly understood, then, it enlightens and reinforces the deterministic claim" [4]. A person cannot clear their mind, disregard previous experiences, and make decisions that are not influenced by past experiences. This means free will choices cannot be made; all choices are determined by prior external agents or actions. If you disregard previous occurrences, memories and experiences, then it wouldn't be YOU making the decision. Those are the very things that make up who you are. Additionally, the decision to clear your mind would also be pre-determined (the inevitable consequence of an antecedent state of affairs). For example you might say, "I need to clear my mind and think about this job offer." But that decision would be predicated on the antecedent event of you being offered the job; which is predicated on you applying for the job; which might be predicated by dissatisfaction stemming from a fight with your current employer, etc. There is far too much information for human beings to be able to predict every future outcome. The individual factors that make up the entire universe are so minute, that the human brain could never fathom such intricacy to the point where we would be able to determine everything. However just because no human could fathom this intricacy, doesn't mean the quantitative data behind it does not exist. In the next round, I look forward to my opponent's case in favor of free will. I would also invite my opponent to list an example/s of a situation where he believes free will has been exercised. Thanks, and I look forward to a great discussion! [1] http://www.simplypsychology.org... [2] http://news.softpedia.com... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org... [4] http://plato.stanford.edu...