Religion

The question, as stated in post #17 was:

Your new question is:



You may not realize it, but the question is ambiguous. So, I'll give a two-part answer.

First, certain decision can be made unconsciously, without any conscious input. For instance, stepping into the street and glimpsing a nearby car speeding directly at you. In that case, we can decide to jump out of the way without any conscious processing. Such a decision is not an act of free will.

On the other hand, some decisions may be contemplated consciously, calling various arguments to mind and weighing them against each other. For instance, I get my paycheck, I am going to go to dinner with some friends later in the week, and I have to decide how much money to put in the bank and how much cash to keep on hand. I consciously consider my financial situation and the likely cost of the dinner. The actual decision is made via unconscious neuronal processing based on input from conscious processes. You might say that the unconscious made that decision; but, in this case, given that it's based on input from conscious processes, I would call that an act of free will.