Are Our Thoughts and Behaviors Predetermined?
There is a Sufi saying that I think answers your question: ldquo;The ordinary man receives what is in his destiny. The enlightened man receives what is not in his destiny.rdquo;
Is the Universe Purely Deterministic?
If you are asking if the universe is a purely deterministic machine where every event is caused by previous events, which are caused by events yet previous to those, all of which would make free willful choice an illusion, the answer appears to be no. According to quantum uncertainty and John Bell’s theorem, the universe contains ldquo;acausal eventsrdquo; - events that occur spontaneously and are bound to no preceding ldquo;causerdquo; such as the moment a given atom will decay or emit energy from an excited state. Any theory that ldquo;supposesrdquo; the universe is deterministic and would make such events perfectly predictable ldquo;if only we had the informationrdquo; can be shown to be theories where the correlations between certain events would differ from those given by quantum mechanics (QM). For every experiment conducted to test these correlations, those given by QM are demonstrated.
So, the universe is not a ldquo;purely programmed machinerdquo; where everything that occurs was determined by the past. However, this does not guarantee that we have free will and can ldquo;originaterdquo; decisions. It just means that we cannot prove otherwise and cannot prove that free will does not exist.
Free Will: An Exploration of Human Behavior
The concept of free will is often discussed as pertains to whole humanity or the human race as a whole, as opposed to other animals. Free will means that human beings, as a whole, can think and do anything as required in any circumstances. It would be incorrect to think that something reasonable is impossible for humans to think or do. Humans can even fantasize beyond reasoning and think about something which is seemingly impossible. Their thoughts and actions are not set in a particular order like other animals. For instance, a tiger can die but cannot live on a plant-based diet, and an elephant can die but cannot live on meat. Animals generally cannot think or behave against what they are predisposed to, unlike humans. Humans, as a unique animal, can do anything or everything imaginable, unlike other types of animals.
However, this does not mean that any individual is free to do anything they think is right. Their choices of thoughts and actions are highly determined, though not completely. There is still a chance to change the course of action and events. It is not perfectly determined, and anyone can achieve what they want in any issue related to them, but it is extremely difficult. It is something like you can think and want whatever you like, but you cannot act on it because of some kind of forces that determine your actions. You can still do what you like and against the forces but that is extremely difficult.
Free will is a concept related to the human mind, specifically. The concept is connected to religion, which emerged from a study of nature in relation to humans. This study involved exploring the ideas of justice, equality, fairness, liberty, and overall morality. This philosophical exercise eventually led to the question of how human reasoning originates or how different types of logical and illogical reasoning arise from the human mind in relation to these values. This study of the human mind connected everything and one of the conclusions of this philosophical exercise is that humans, as a whole, are free to do anything, unlike any other type of animal, which is described as free will.
Thus, free will and predetermination are both correct. One is the freedom of the mind and the other is the causal prediction of nature. Both concepts coexist and offer different perspectives on human behavior.