Clewley asked:

I would like to know if one can be examined to find out whether or not one has freewill. All my choices
seemed to depend entirely on my emotional state at the time of choosing or fear of the consequences
if I choose wrongly. When there are no consequences in my choice I just choose randomly. Is there a
scientific test that could prove, for instance, that I have a freewill? How would you go about it? Or is it
purely an introspective assumption that others have freewill? I am determined to know!

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You are asking a question which has been debated for thousands of years. If you want a scientific/
philosophical approach to this question, which, by the way, I am in sympathy with, the best text I
know of at this point is one which has just come out: Freedom Evolvesby D. Dennett. I highly
recommend it.

Steven Ravett Brown

There is a long and a short answer to your question. I'm going to keep it short: for more info, check
any of the 1000's of books and papers written on the subject!

It so happens that I wrote an article in the Pathways E-Journal, 'Death, Value and Free Will' in
Philosophy Pathways Issue No. 57, and made an attempt there to explain the nature of freewill. I
suggest you read it: if nothing else, you'll discover that without free will you would not be here talking
about it! That would seem to offer at least one solution to your problem.

The other issue, however, is a different kettle of fish. Firstly, there are no scientific tests, for the very
good reason that you can't run a test on something you don't know what it is! Secondly, you might like
to stop for a moment as you read this and question yourself as to why you expect science to furnish
an answer? What has freewill got to do with science?

That leaves, thirdly, how you arrive at choices. Apart from the obvious ones, such as deciding to run
away when someone who stands a head taller than you and threatens to belt you up, there is very
little to clarify the matter. This is not to say that no-one has thought and written about it. Quite the
contrary. Subjects like these, where we know next to nothing, seem to pose especially alluring
challenges to writers and in consequence there are dozens of publications. But unless you feel like
embroiling yourself in (mostly untestable) conjectures, you'll have to accept that the enigma will
remain impenetrable a little longer yet. Mind you: there's nothing to stop you, if you're really serious,
from devoting your life's work to this research. If (as you say) you're 'determined to know', consider
how seriously 'determined' you are and if necessary, act on the consequences! After all, you're not
the only one who wants to know, and I agree with your tacit understanding that it is surely one of the
most important aspects of humanness we ought to understand!

Jürgen Lawrenz

Sydney