Why Do Free Will Exist

The existence and nonexistence of free will has been debated since ancient times. Ancient Greeks believed in gods that predetermined peoples fate and this has been shown in Greek mythology such as Oedipus, Odyssey etc. Free will can be seen as the ability for someone to act according to their own discretion. Free will is the basis for the debate about moral responsibility. Some people believe that free will exist and as such we have control over our actions and decisions. Therefore, there is a moral responsibility, so people can be punished or praised according to their actions. Others believe that free will does not exist. Determinist believe that each and every event or actions is predetermined ahead of time. According to metaphysical problem of free will, if determinism is true there is no …show more content…
Humans are influenced by their surroundings, families, friends, teachers etc, and we can be swayed in either direction. Ultimately, humans decide which way they are swayed. If two people come together, they can choose to hate, love, compromise, or fight each other. So it can be said that despite humans being dependent on influences we somewhat have freedom due to alternatives. This election saw the main choices between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Therefore, people who were democratic would be expected to vote for Hilary and those who are republicans would be expected to vote for Trump. However, this election saw people who were form either parties choosing to vote for candidates from opposite parties or choosing not to vote at all. Therefore, if there are alternatives for people to pick from it can be said that people have free will based on their choices, and are therefore morally responsible for their actions. Oedipus the king can be used as an example of free will vs predetermined fate. It can be argued that Oedipus was not responsible for his actions because his fate has been predetermined and was set to stone. However, it can