The average human being possesses a small degree of free will. At all other times, determinism applies.
I say that the average human being has only a small degree of free will, because most of the time, we function on autopilot. In accordance with our social conditioning; habits; and automated responses, rather than via the exercise of free will.
We are more evolved than earthworms, yet strikingly similar in some ways. Most of the time, we respond automatically to stimuli, just as earthworms do. Krishnamurti put it another way - most of the human race is asleep.
These are examples of the limitations of free will:
1. Someone says something to you, and you immediately lose your temper, a reaction which you later regret.
2. You are worrying about something which you already know you cannot help. You wish to stop, but you can't.
3. When you are at a restaurant and the waitress asks you what drink you want, you instinctively say, "Coke" because you have been programmed by Coke advertisements to say so.
4. Without quite knowing why, you seek to do the things which your church / parents / school / government wants you to do.
5. You stick a cigarette in your mouth and light up, even though this very morning, you'd told yourself to quit smoking.
6. You are not able to live in accordance with your personal values.
7. When you were a kid, your teacher told you that you were lazy & stupid. 30 years later, you still cannot shake off that belief although you would like to. Therefore you continue to feel bad about yourself.
|