I don’t think so.

Free Will is the ability to decide and act free from the influence of past events or the environment. Free Will implies complete freedom to make absolutely any choice. If you spend a moment reflecting on this, you would appreciate why we don’t have Free Will. Because our decisions and actions are never divorced from our past or our ecosystem.

We have a conditioned mind. Our memories, past impressions and experiences bias and shape each of our thoughts and actions in the present. It’s our karmic imprint. Not just what we are born with but also what we accumulate while living. Alternatively, we can consider it the result of our genetic code, upbringing and environment. It’s our backstory.

The only way to experience Free Will is to get rid of all such conditioning; to neutralise our karmic imprint; to be independent of our psychological coding. That’s possible only if we can purify our mind by letting go of all our ego, attachments and fixed beliefs. Only when we can reside in the truth of our being. Clearly a tall order for any of us to achieve in a lifetime.

But we do have choice in most situations, right?

You could argue that the above is a rather exacting definition of Free Will. What we usually mean by Free Will is that we have a choice in most situations. Even if we may not have complete freedom to make absolutely any choice, we clearly have some choice. For example, who you choose to marry, what profession you pursue or how you react to someone’s aggression. Sounds reasonable. But here’s the catch.

While we do seemingly have a choice in most situations, our ability to make that choice too is significantly restricted by our predispositions. Our karmic imprint or our psychological coding is quite powerful and dictates the choice we make. Subconsciously, you are likely to fall in love with a person of a specific personality type; pursue a profession with certain specific rewards and characteristics.

This applies even to our ability to bring about change within ourselves. Despite a strong resolve to be calmer, kinder or less anxious, our ability to manifest that change depends, at least partly, on our emotional and mental wiring. Perhaps that’s why some people succeed in such efforts more than others.

Incidentally, a neuroscience experiment supports this idea. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences studied the role of the unconscious in simple decision-making. Using brain scans, they were able to predict participants’ decisions almost seven seconds before the participants consciously made them. It’s possible that the decisions are being made in the unconscious, but when they appear in our conscious awareness, we feel as if we are making them.

Do we have any agency?

Does this mean we have no agency to make wise choices or make positive changes? Not exactly. However, we need to be mindful of the limitations of that agency – in ourselves and in others. We need to cultivate a more balanced and nuanced relationship with the scope of that agency.

Although that’s a sobering realisation, it does not make us fatalistic. Ironically, the need to grow and evolve is also encoded in us. That’s why we find meaning in trying our best to choose well even if there’s no guarantee of the outcome of such efforts.

Implication

As we embrace these insights, we give ourselves a little less credit for our success. Instead, we are more grateful for our programming. We are also less hard on ourselves for our failings. Further, we find it easier to empathise with others. We can better relate to the challenge they experience in making desirable changes. For example, we are more compassionate towards someone dealing with anxiety and depression who despite their efforts struggles to feel positive and secure.

Of course, if you wish to expand your agency, you could explore ways to do some deeper inner work. Enhance your self-awareness and examine and reform your conditioned beliefs. Techniques like Vipassana might be of help. But then I wonder if your inclination to embark on that journey too depends on your current karmic coding!