The Existence of Free Will

Much debate exists about whether or not humans have "free will." One argument revolves around the notion that since we are created by a perfect god and god knows all things, therefore we really have no free will because everything has already been predetermined by god. And of course, the argument further delves into topics such as what is the point of living life if people have no free will?

In my opinion and in the minds of millions others, we have free will, including the right to obey or disobey god or whatever higher force one might believe in, but I would add the modification that people live in a form of constrained will, and this is where anxious people fit in.

What do I mean by constrained will? Very simply put, it means that people most of the time have the choice to do whatever it is that seems best at a particular point in time, but that there are certain forces acting on each person that constrain his or her ability to make a choice that actually (not what the person believes) is in the person's best interest. However, it should be noted that with practice, people can exercise their will under fewer constraints, and that it seems most beneficial for people and also in their own interest to act with the greatest degree of freedom possible in any given situation.

In relation to those affected by social anxiety, this means that anxiety in social situations acts as a strong constraint to free will. For example, a person's will might be to go and talk to the attractive girl across the room, however, this outside force, social anxiety, tells the person that he is not good enough, will look stupid, or that the girl will simply find him unattractive. In this case, social anxiety has constrained a person's will to the point where this person has a fairly noticeable level of constrained will.

Fortunately, through personal experience, other people and myself have learned how to reduce anxiety to the point where its effects in our lives are small enough such that it is possible to act with a much greater degree of free will. Using the previous example to demonstrate this point, the person who has worked at reducing his anxiety for some time might now find it possible to go over and at least talk to the girl, therefore exercising his will. However, it still might be fairly anxiety-provoking, and he might not end up talking and acting with full confidence, like he had hoped. In order to act with complete free will, he would have to enter the situation without any anxiety or fear of failure, and this is probably impossible for any person to actually achieve, let alone the social anxious. However, it does seem possible that one can reduce his anxiety to the point where its effects in his life are minimal and that while he or she might not have this situation working out, the overall goal of finding a healthy partner will at some point in time.

To act with total and complete free will without any influence whatsoever from outside sources will always be impossible to achieve; this is an achievement that only god could make. However, some constraint can be a very good thing, and it might not always be the best to act without any constrain whatsoever. For example, say a person did not become anxious when approaching a cobra snake, one of the most deadly creatures to humans. In this case, the constraints that anxiety produces on the possible actions one could take are very appropriate and necessary for the greater good of that person. So, while acting without constraint is something that is not possible, it is something that is not beneficial for humans either. The best thing to have is a minimal level of constraint, while eliminating all unnecessary constraints.

In sum, complete free will is not possible or even desirable for people while they live here on earth. However, in the case of anxiety (and other conditions not discussed), the constraints placed on a person's actions need to be minimized in order to maximize that person's functioning in life.