Maybe when people talk about "free will", what they are really talking about is the ability to deviate from the simplest conception of an evolutionary strategy.
For example you wouldn't say a plant has free will. It just sits where it is planted, collecting sunlight, water, CO2, and minerals, and grows as specified in its genome. It doesn't deviate from the evolutionary strategy of its species.
You probably wouldn't say an ant has free will. It can move around, sure, but it seemingly does so according to a complex set of rules that are consistently embodied by all members of its species.
Does a dog have free will? I think we're getting closer to the line. A dog can clearly make choices against the simplest evolutionary strategy. A dog needs food to eat, it's driven to prefer certain foods... but some dogs can choose to let a tasty treat sit on the table (or even on its nose!) without consuming it. Some dogs seem to act in a way that we would call altruistic, endangering itself to save a human child, for example.
And of course, humans are capable of making all sorts of decisions that seem counter to a simple conception of an evolutionary strategy. On the positive side, choosing to forego reproducing in favor of pursuing some social goal, like a career. On the negative side, choosing to kill someone despite knowing they could be caught and punished (and therefore not reproduce).
And I think the opposite holds too--when we imagine a being without free will, the defining characteristic seems to be that it always follows a rigid set of rules, with no possibility of deviation.
I keep referring to the "concept" of a simple evolutionary strategy; does that mean this is not a rigorous definition of free will? Well I would say that free will is itself a human concept, so I think it's valid to explore its meaning in the context of other human concepts.
I think it's entirely possible that humans are actually deterministic and predictable, but the rules of our behavior are so complex that we could never know or apply them in a practical way, the way we know and use the rules that govern plants, for instance.
For example you wouldn't say a plant has free will. It just sits where it is planted, collecting sunlight, water, CO2, and minerals, and grows as specified in its genome. It doesn't deviate from the evolutionary strategy of its species.
You probably wouldn't say an ant has free will. It can move around, sure, but it seemingly does so according to a complex set of rules that are consistently embodied by all members of its species.
Does a dog have free will? I think we're getting closer to the line. A dog can clearly make choices against the simplest evolutionary strategy. A dog needs food to eat, it's driven to prefer certain foods... but some dogs can choose to let a tasty treat sit on the table (or even on its nose!) without consuming it. Some dogs seem to act in a way that we would call altruistic, endangering itself to save a human child, for example.
And of course, humans are capable of making all sorts of decisions that seem counter to a simple conception of an evolutionary strategy. On the positive side, choosing to forego reproducing in favor of pursuing some social goal, like a career. On the negative side, choosing to kill someone despite knowing they could be caught and punished (and therefore not reproduce).
And I think the opposite holds too--when we imagine a being without free will, the defining characteristic seems to be that it always follows a rigid set of rules, with no possibility of deviation.
I keep referring to the "concept" of a simple evolutionary strategy; does that mean this is not a rigorous definition of free will? Well I would say that free will is itself a human concept, so I think it's valid to explore its meaning in the context of other human concepts.
I think it's entirely possible that humans are actually deterministic and predictable, but the rules of our behavior are so complex that we could never know or apply them in a practical way, the way we know and use the rules that govern plants, for instance.