The Extent to Which People Can Exercise Their Free Will in the Context of Society

Freewill the strength to behave without the limitation of moral necessity or destiny; the ability to reason at the discretion of one. Many people think they are free to think and decide for themselves, but it is very hard to determine what 'free will 'really is because there are different opinions. If a person exercises his or her free will, it simply means that their actions are not impacted by spiritual, physical, cultural or mental constraints. However, the extent to which people can exercise their free will in society has been a subject of discussion for several decades now. For several decades now, the magnitude to which people can use their free will in the context of society has been a subject of debate.

Our thinking, attitudes, beliefs, preferences and worldview are shaped by society. You cannot argue that what you think or do is entirely your own discovery, because people are bound to the predetermined functions of the society in which they live. It is impossible to live and find happiness outside of society's set standards. For example, people are driven by goals and work hard to be successful by the ideas that society has put into them about what success means. In most cases, nobody wants to succeed for their own sake, they want to be recognized by others, they want to have a place in society, they want to be ahead of others.

The society has established standards, values and laws governing its members. Society requires that the law set be complied with at all times. Since the development of the concept law, people have violated the law in one way or another for different reasons. In Plato's Crito, Crito tries to persuade Socrates to escape prison, so that he couldn't be executed. Crito makes the argument that Socrates will be unfairly executed, so that the smartest thing to do is to escape. The two men agree that Socrates is innocent of the accusations against him. The dilemma is whether Socrates obeys the law or breaks it on the basis that Socrates is innocent and should not be carried out.

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The two debates about a person-the law or the conscience. Crito promises to help Socrates escape, and Socrates refuses to do so. Socrates says, “so then we must do no wrong? …nor when injured injure in return, as the many imagine; for we must injure no one at all?” (Plato, Church, & Cumming 1956 72-74) Socrates actually argues that while injustice is not good, it is also not good to do injustice to respond to injustice.

Socrates actually argues that while injustice is not good, it is also not good to do injustice to respond to injustice. Socrates goes on to say that the law says a person should be a slave to his master in the city, that the law says his escape was unfair. The refusal of Socrates to escape from prison, even though he understands that he had been wrongly accused, is supported by the concept that he must abide by the law, that society persists over his own will. Socrates resigns himself to the execution for the sake of the law established by society. This is the fate of the person in society.

Many people today oppress, demoralize and dehumanize situations, but they can not do anything because they are against the law. The typical working class person, for example, is overworked and underpaid and can not meet his needs while his employer is more than sufficient. If the individual's free will were unlimited, such a situation would not exist. Everyone would do anything to get ahead, including breaking the law. Many people resign to their 'destiny. ' Another example is the 1989 protest in Tiananmen Square in China, which aimed to fight for freedom, democracy and strongly opposed corruption. In the eyes of the leadership, however, the protests were a crime and therefore Marshall Law was declared, which led to the square's massacre of protesters. While the protesters had a noble course, they were not favored by social law.

The person is bound to society's will. They must comply with societal standards and laws, despite what he believes to have consequences. The concept of free will is only an illusion that society has created in order to conform people to their will. The notion of free will clashes with logic and the physical composition of the world as we know it; it is an unsustainable concept. That's because people have no motives, but rather comprehend intent.

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