Free Will

I come from a devout Jehovah's Witness/Catholic household (doesn't that sound like an exciting mix!) and am myself implicitly atheist. Despite this though, I remain quite interested in theological questions. After much soul-searching, I have finally found myself prepared to embrace a world absent divinity, but nevertheless keep my heart open to the alternative.

Firstly, I want to thank you for doing what you do, because you are perhaps the most refreshingly clear thinker I know who is easily come across on YouTube. People today are not clear-minded, and movements like new atheism and the people one is generally surrounded by (at least in my neighborhood) will absolutely pollute the mind. Even as an atheist, though, I was brought to euphoria the day I watched you debate Sam Harris. Despite what was for me an unsettling conclusion, your argument was so crisply delivered, I could not help but after joyously reflect, "I was wrong! And I know why!" In all the arguments I've engaged in others with, people tend to reason so murkily that regardless of who is "right", the arguments they offer are so fraught with fallacy that their position is not logically comprehensible, thus leaving their opponent either frustrated or confused rather than intellectually up built.

As for my question, it concerns the nature of free will...what is it? Everywhere I have looked for arguments defending the existence of free will, I seem only to find it argued that free will has not been ruled out by determinism or that the concept is necessary for some social reason. To my surprise, it seems no attempt has ever been made to actually describe what a choice is. Whatever it is, at the least it can be said to be an event that can influence physical events, do you think? If the nature of choice admits at present no description whatsoever, how can one be held accountable for the event of a choice they make when, fundamentally, they literally have no clue what happened?

Furthermore, on a more personal note, the thought that my actions originate from some ethereal and unintelligible source robs my actions of any genuine meaning, in the sense that there is no meaningful way to understand what I have done.

Thank you very much for your time!

Sebastian

United States

Click HERE to read Dr. Craig's answer