Why Do People Have Free Will

Most people believe that free will is something that all humans have. Many religions even teach that people have free will. Children are told by their parents that they have free will. However, free will is nothing more than a myth. It is only an illusion. Humans only believe that they have free will. The play, Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles brings this idea up. In the play, Oedipus believes he has free will in choosing to run away from the town he calls his home because he is afraid of a prophecy he heard. Little does he know, that by running away from his home, he actually made the prophecy come true. This proves that humans have a little free will in the choices they make that lead them up to what their fate will be. For example, a person
can make a choice as to which college they go to, but they will end up doing their fated profession. Oedipus did end up marrying his mother and killing his father because of his parents’ actions. This is because fate is not necessarily something written in the stars, like many people think it to be. Fate can be influenced by one’s parents and by the environment they live in. If a child is told to become a doctor all his life, he will grow up to become a doctor. The article, “Free Will May Just Be the Brain’s ‘Background Noise,’ Scientist Say”, written by Tia Ghose says that the illusion of free will may only exist because, “life would be too depressing without the illusion of choice”(Ghose n.pag).
The background noise gives us a taste of what free will might be. This gives us hope and keeps us aware of our surroundings. If we did not have the illusion of free will, humans would be too depressed to” survive and reproduce”(Ghose n.pag). If humans were aware that they could not make major decisions about their life, many would become depressed or extremely upset. As shown in Sophocles's play when Jocasta kills herself, and Oedipus claws out his eyes. Another article, “Is Free Will an Illusion? Scientists, Philosophers Forced to Differ”, by Natalie Wolchover agrees that free will does not exist. The article argues that free will is nothing more than electrical impulses in our brain. This electrical activity happens before we make the decision, not during or after. Humans have no control over these impulses. These electrical impulses keep us alive, by regulating our breathing and heart rate. These impulses can also make decisions for us. Reflexes are controlled by these impulses. When we touch a hot stove, we immediately pull away without thinking because of the electrical
impulses.
These impulses work in the same way when it comes to decisions that do not involve reflexes, such as taking a test. Someone might be fated to put the wrong answer because the electrical impulses in the brain say to put down something incorrect as the answer. This may lead the student to learn more and spark an interest in the student that leads them down the path they were fated to go down. But, for example, if someone commits a crime, they should still be punished. Committing a crime is because of that criminal’s fate but because other people were hurt, the criminal should be punished. Fate does control us but that does not mean that our actions do not have consequences. People still need to be reprimanded for something they do, even though it was a part of their fated life plan. Fate sets out a plan for us and we follow it. We make some little decisions along the way. We can sometimes decide which road to travel but we can never decide where we will end up.