Do free will and conscious thought exist?

[Esran]

All free will means is being in control.

'Free will' simply does not mean 'unpredictable will'.

'Free will' simply does not mean 'arbitrary will'.

'Free will' simply does not mean 'it happens for no reason'

'Free will' simply does not mean, 'If I had to do it over again, everything else
being equal, I wouldn't necessarily make the same decision'

'Free will' means 'I am responsible for my decisions.' That's it. That's all. Free will means that I'm in control, that I made the decision, not something else.

 

[granpa]

if you want to define it that way then that's fine with me. most people have different ideas about it.

of course when I say that 'you' are 'that part' that controls things I am speaking generally and somewhat ideally. a brain damaged person may not be able to control everything perfectly.

 

[Esran]

granpa, yes, that's how I define free will. And yes, brain damage can eliminate free will, or at least our ability to observe it in action, among other things. I'm not sure who would argue with you about that.

 

[Ferris_bg]

My explanation of Free Will is the following:

Statement: In the moment of processing the information our brain constantly finds possible outcomes and automatically chooses the option with the highest expected value for us.

If the statement is right this means that we don't choose from the calculated outcomes, we simply always take the best.

If the statement is wrong this means that we choose the one we want, even if it's not the best given the available information.

I will give some example if the above writings are not well explained.