How We Know #13: Free Will

Chapter 10 is about free will or volition.

Free will has traditionally been thought of as the ability to choose among alternative physical actions. This is not false, but it is quite superficial. The actual primary is the rationality or irrationality of one's mental processes. It is this that is under one's direct volitional control. It is fundamentally an epistemological issue. "Man's free will consists in his sovereign control over how he uses his mind." But sovereign control is not omnipotence. Determinism denies this sovereign control. It claims that one's sense of control is illusory.

One's power to take hold of the mental reins is present as a choice. In Ayn Rand's terms, it is the choice between thinking or not. "Mental focus is wider and deeper than thinking; it is the precondition of thinking." Epistemologically, focus mean rationality.

"Perceptual processes are automatically in contact with the world; conceptual processes are not. Conceptual processes performed out of focus result in mental content that is invalid, subjective, out of touch with reality.

The basic choice of focus is independent of any specific motive.

"Fundamentally, consciousness is navigational: it is identification used to guide action. A prime example is the process of deliberating on alternative courses of actions." It is both intellectual and practical.

Man can reflect on and evaluate his own decision making process, including among others I am too tired now to decide or I need more information, or I'm uncertain but must choose.

A man's character is the net product of all of his choices. Every choice leaves its trace.

Volition is axiomatic. "Volition is not only self-evident -- directly introspectible -- it is fundamental to conceptual cognition" (355, my italics).