I keep reading more and more studies about how our brain makes decisions before we're even aware of them. If neuroscientists like the ones I saw in a Netflix documentary say this, how can we say we have true free will?
That's actually a question that bugs me too when I'm out in my kayak just thinking randomly lol. The thing is, those brain studies don't really say we don't have free will, but more like a lot of stuff happens "under the radar" of our awareness - that doesn't mean our conscious choices are illusions, just that the process is more complicated than we thought.
Like, the fact that your brain processes info before you're aware of it doesn't invalidate the fact that you then consciously decide to paddle left or right.
I think real freedom is more a matter of degree than all-or-nothing, you know?
When I have to choose between two different tents for camping, my brain will do unconscious calculations, sure, but that choice is still mine - it's not like some external force is deciding for me. The big problem with these studies is that they confuse "your brain processes things before you're aware of it" with "so you're not free to choose," and those are two different things. If your brain is *you*, then what it does unconsciously is still part of how you function - it's not an illusion, it's just that free will probably doesn't work the way we thought, meaning there isn't some part of you standing outside observing and deciding rationally. The real point is redefining what freedom is, not denying that it exists.
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