free will as an idea
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Not Viktor Frankl
Michael Ashcroft • How to Make Unfixated Choices
"I understand there's a guy inside me who wants to lay in bed, smoke weed all day, and watch cartoons and old movies. My whole life is a series of stratagems to avoid, and outwit, that guy.”
— Anthony Bourdain
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
smbc-comics.com
As Schopenhauer said about free will, you can choose whatever you desire, but you’re not free to choose your desires
Ian McEwan • Machines Like Me: A Novel
My old definition was "freedom to." Freedom to do anything I want. Freedom to do whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like. Now, the freedom I'm looking for is internal freedom. It's “freedom from." Freedom from reaction. Freedom from feeling angry. Freedom from being sad. Freedom from being forced to do things. I'm looking for "freedom from,"... See more
Eric Jorgenson • Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Whether or not you have worked out your own understanding of free will, just thinking about your potential lack of agency can be an exercise in mindfulness. By observing the thoughts that run amuck your mind, and contemplating the subconscious factors that govern your waking consciousness, you allow awareness to take the wheel — rather than... See more
Alex Olshonsky • Free will: who's in control?
The idea that all our choices are determined by past events may seem dispiriting – but it can be emotionally liberating
Francis Merson • Recognise free will is an illusion and reap the emotional benefits | Psyche Ideas
In moments of uncertainty, we act like we don’t have a choice. But we do. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing,” Viktor Frankl writes in one of my favorite books of all time, Man’s Search for Meaning, “to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Will this help?
In his book Escape from Freedom, philosopher and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm argues that if man experiences freedom from authoritarian rule (e.g., government, religious institution) without exercising his freedom to express his individuality while integrating himself with the world, he will feel burdened with overwhelming feelings of loneliness,... See more