Our choices are therefore the result of factors completely outside of our control, thereby eliminating the ability for one to have free will. Even our gut bacteria can influence our mood and energy.

On top of this, the determinism argument suggests that we are all products of our environment to some extent, we are influenced by culture, our company, our job, education, books we read, music we listen to, movies we watch.

The other side of the argument suggests that we don’t have as much autonomy over our life as we might think - our genetics are predetermined, meaning that we are predisposed to think and act in certain ways due to our biology, neurochemistry, and physical attributes, all of which will be unique to you. Where free will suggests that you and I have absolute control over the path of our life, we are at the helm, plotting the course and making the decisions on how best to navigate the seas. This is the debate of free will vs determinism. Today I’ll take you through the both sides of the argument where we’ll explore free will, determinism and it’s many different forms and finally if you stick around to the end, or just want to skip ahead, we’ll explore how both sides of the argument can be used to help us get a better understanding for what we can control, what we can’t and how this clarification can help us live better, happier, and more resilient lives.

There is an age-old debate in philosophy about whether or not we are the authors of our story, the captains of our ship, or our story is written for us, either by some all knowing author that oversees everything we know, or by the natural world around us.

Free will quotes