Libertarian Free Will (The Open Field)

Imagine you are standing in the middle of a big grassy field with no fences or roads at all. You can walk North, South, East, or West just because you want to! This idea says that you are the ultimate driver, and you can create your own path wherever you go. You are not just following a map that someone else drew; you are the artist drawing the map as you move. It means your choices are totally fresh and new, and nothing in the past can force you to turn left if you want to turn right. You have the power to surprise the world!

You are the artist drawing the map as you move. This is the romantic position. The poetic one. The one that feels true at three in the morning when you decide to change your life. You are not a domino. You are not a train on a track. You are a prime mover. A first cause. An origin point. When you choose to forgive someone who hurt you — that forgiveness was not written in the stars. It was written by you. In that moment. From nothing. This view says that you are capable of genuine novelty. That the universe can be surprised. That your next sentence is not a product of your past but a gift from your present. It is the most empowering idea in philosophy. And the hardest to prove. But the inability to prove something has never stopped it from being true.

Libertarian free will: agents possess causal power not dictated by prior events — prime movers unmoved. Connects to Sartre's 'existence precedes essence.' The most empowering idea in philosophy. And the hardest to prove.

SOUND: A jazz musician improvising a solo that has never been played before: creation happening in real time.

SMELL: Wildflowers in a breeze that could blow in any direction: no two inhales identical.

TASTE: Trying a brand new food you have never heard of: the tongue meeting the genuinely unknown.

TOUCH: Bare feet on untracked sand: the body making the first mark.

SIGHT: A bird suddenly changing its flight path: the visual of a will that answers to nothing.

BODY: The spark of energy right before you jump: the body loading a choice that did not exist one second ago.

Music: Jeremy by Pearl Jam

Music: The Only Thing by Sufjan Stevens

Music: A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke

Part of Free Will & Choice — CONSCIOUSNESS — Education Revelation