Second thoughts about freedom

I have written about this subject before but thought my original thoughts lacked a vital bit so here is an update of my thoughts on the subject of freedom.

For this take I will only consider freewill (I have heard a lot of banter about this recently). It would seem to be the most fundamental aspect of the freedom question.

You can consciously decide to do this or that but below the surface each choice is pre-programmed by your learned prejudice (both conscious and subconscious), the environment the decision comes in and your genetic predisposition. In this sense freewill is only a perception and not reality. Perhaps there is some connotation of lack coercion in the term freewill but given the ensemble of inputs that lead to any, even the most trivial of choices, there is always some conflict.

We execute our pre-programmed code in response to stimulus. To me this is not freewill it is automation. Quantum uncertainty does not provide an out. A molecule in a liquid may follow some truly random path but it is just responding. Like wise we respond. It is not freewill. Our actions are locked in.

If we take action due to duress of some kind or for or own gain it is just response to stimuli. I guess it comes down to semantics if we label anything we do for ourselves as freewill and anything we do due to some negative pressure as against freewill then it resolves nicely.

If I see bucket full of $100 bills on the side of the street I have to make a decision. I can;

a. choose to pick it up and spend it,

b. pick it up and report it to the police or

c. just keep on walking.

By the definition above my freewill choice is a., the other options are tainted by my perceptions of consequence.

So I guess this means there is no freewill, just different varying degrees of oppression.