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Yes, Free Will Exists
The centuries-old question about human beings having free will or not is still unanswered but is fundamental for our moral codes, justice systems, religion and even the very meaning of life.
The argument about having predetermined choices amounting to not having free will does not hold upon careful reflection. Our definition of free will, and the existence of fate, is crucial for our understanding of whether life has any point at all.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
When Ivan Pavlov and his dogs led to the discovery of learned behaviour through repeated exposure, and Edward Thorndike discovered the Law of Effect that stated that rewarded behaviours tended to increase, many psychologists were impelled to separate psychology from armchair introspection and formulated their theories as mathematical formulas.
Donald Hebb realised that existing theories were too focused on reacting to the immediate environment. Thoughts, ideas and goals could be just as strong for triggering action as sights and sounds.
Together with John Atkinson, they noted that the study of motivation had undergone a "paradigm shift", where motivation couldn't be seen as how actions get started, but how the organism decides to change its behaviour from one thing to another.
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Key Ideas
It cannot be acquired by pleasurable experiences but only by identifying and realizing our own potential, moral and creative, in our specific environments, with our particular family, friends and colleagues, and helping others to do so.