An approach to "free will" is to notice that it is an useful concept for organizing our experience, and so, why not use it? How it's useful:
- when we can say "this ought to happen", and work towards that to happen.
- when we can say "I desire this but intend that", and follow-through our intention rather than our desire.
- when we can not model a person's action on a purely cause-and-effect basis, and there appears to be an inherent unpredictability in their decision.
It is useful to say/think that there's "free will" at play, as there's a certain character to the situations (and why not name it, so it's easier to recognize).
Above three scenarios owing to Kant (Critique of Practical Reason). The first two, we generally do not ascribe to other species, which might imply that they have less free will than we do.
- when we can say "this ought to happen", and work towards that to happen.
- when we can say "I desire this but intend that", and follow-through our intention rather than our desire.
- when we can not model a person's action on a purely cause-and-effect basis, and there appears to be an inherent unpredictability in their decision.
It is useful to say/think that there's "free will" at play, as there's a certain character to the situations (and why not name it, so it's easier to recognize).
Above three scenarios owing to Kant (Critique of Practical Reason). The first two, we generally do not ascribe to other species, which might imply that they have less free will than we do.