The problem is that neither determinism nor randomness, nor any combination of the two,

justifies the feeling that most people have that goes by the name of free will.

The feeling that they're free to think and do more or less whatever they want in the present,

in a way that allows them to be something other than a mere concatenation of causes,

or mysterious influences.

With respect to free will it amounts to this.

Most people feel that the conscious part of their minds, the one that is experiencing their experience,

thinking their thoughts, feeling their feelings, is in control of their mental life and behavior,

in some real way.

They feel that they are the source of their intentions and actions,

not merely that these mental and physical states are arising in their bodies, somehow,

but that they are initiated by their conscious minds, in some way.

The experiential you, the conscious witness of your inner life,

the one who's hearing these words right now.

You aren't the author of your thoughts, intentions, and actions.

Rather, thoughts, intentions, and subsequent actions simply arise and are noticed.

But if you pay attention to how thoughts arise,

you'll see that they simply appear quite literally out of nowhere, out of nowhere.

Everything is just happening, including your thoughts and intentions and desires

and most deliberate actions, everything is just happening on its own.

Choices, reasoning, discipline, all of these things play obvious roles in our lives,

despite the fact that they're determined by prior causes.

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