The debate between determinism and free will is often framed in black-and-white terms, but human behavior suggests a spectrum. Sometimes our actions feel automatic, driven by biology or environment; other times they feel deliberate, guided by reflection and long-term goals.
Take a simple case: breakfast. You might choose between cereal, eggs, or skipping the meal. That decision is shaped by both external inputs (what food is available, what you see in the fridge) and internal states (hunger, health goals, habits). The final choice emerges from the interplay of these factors inside the brain.
By contrast, some processes—heartbeat, breathing rhythms, circadian cycles—are regulated by deeper brain structures like the brainstem. These are not accessible to conscious choice. They illustrate that not everything within us is under voluntary control.
Where decision-making does come into play is in the brain’s higher networks. The prefrontal cortex integrates sensory input, memory, and goals into plans. For example, when crossing a street, your visual cortex detects moving objects, your hippocampus provides a spatial map, and your prefrontal cortex coordinates whether and when to step forward. Consciousness arises where internal goals and external information converge in a global workspace—a network where perception, memory, and reasoning are shared.
Not all actions in this workspace feel equally “free.” Going to the bathroom is biologically compelled; choosing to fast for religious reasons reflects higher-order goals. Some individuals even override basic survival instincts: protestors who endure extreme pain without fleeing are examples of agency overriding reflex. In this sense, “free will” varies in degree depending on how much deliberation and internal motivation outweigh immediate stimuli.
What makes humans distinct from simpler animals is the complexity of this internal process. A goldfish may eat whenever food is present, but a human can filter eating through layers of thought: Am I hungry? Is this food spoiled? Should I wait for my partner? Does this fit my health plan or religious commitments? The richer the web of considerations, the less behavior is dictated by the immediate environment. Complexity builds buffers against reflex.
Of course, none of this implies that we escape physics. Every thought is a neural process, constrained by physical law. In principle, a complete map of the brain and environment could predict our decisions. But complexity matters: in practice, human cognition is so layered and self-referential that simple external inputs cannot easily override it. Elon Musk will not abandon his Mars project because of three counterarguments; his internal network of reasons is too elaborate. This illustrates how a complex brain can shape the world more than it is shaped by it.
So where does this leave free will? If by “free will” we mean a supernatural power outside physics, there is no evidence for it. But if we mean the capacity of a brain to deliberate, weigh goals, and act according to its internal organization, then free will exists as a real phenomenon—bounded by physical law but genuine in its functional sense. Our freedom lies not in breaking determinism, but in embodying it at a level of complexity where actions reflect internal reasons rather than mere reflex.
Conclusion: Free will is compatible with determinism. It emerges from the brain’s ability to integrate information and pursue goals, even though every step is physically determined. The laws of physics set the stage, but within that stage, a sufficiently complex system like the human brain can generate choices, resist impulses, and project its own designs into the world.
PS: That is why changing someone mind is hard. You have to peel back layers and layers of thoughts and brainwave to hopefully reach to the core of their belief. Let’s say if someone parents get killed by a minority in front of their face, for them to not fear those same minority in the future is almost impossible. Another conclusion is that there’s also no absolute free will. For any action there’s equal and opposite reaction. For any effort to try to change someone mind, their mind will maybe change a little bit even if it’s not fully conscious yet. It just takes a very long time to untangle their thought to reach to the core. A complex lock with many layers of security will of course require a complex key, if there’s any key at all.