Human Nature: Free Will

While there are basic laws that govern human nature, the ability of humans to consciously choose paths that are contrary to our individual goals is nonetheless indicative of the extent to which mankind is capable of subverting our biological and psychological imperatives in favor of free will. Free will, therefore, exists for humans in the sense that we can and sometimes do choose to pursue actions that we consciously recognize as wrong. Thus, I argue that, while certain laws do govern human tendencies, our basic ability to follow our own will is not unduly compromised by this. 

Human action and behavior are driven by conscious and subconscious desires and needs. Conscious desires exist in the mind as acknowledged needs that must be addressed and approached by the individual—a conscious desire to obtain employment, for example, is a basic need and law that helps govern human action. At the same time, these commonly accepted laws of human behavior that govern our actions are not necessarily set in stone, nor are they absolute in their control over human action. Instead, the conscious laws by which we are aware can and clearly do influence our action, but do not wholly govern it. At no point is a human mandated by an external necessity to obey particular laws that govern our behavior; instead, it is a choice (often a pragmatic one, and one that coincides with basic needs such as food, shelter, and companionship) that may or may not be made by the individual. Hospers says, free will exists as a function of the individual to embrace his or her own path and choose to engage in activities that may or not may not influenced the laws that contribute to the paths we choose in life and is thus not adversely affected by those laws. I argue that, while there are certain basic needs requirements to life, those laws do not contradict the human desire of free will in any meaningful way. Instead, they should be seen as guideposts or signs pointing us in a particular direction, but in the end, compulsion is not necessary and free will still exists.