The will is the component which chooses between or from among alternatives. It is the component that makes the decision and sets the actions in motion that are necessary to execute the decision. It has the choice of making wise decisions or foolish decisions. In the example of the jury, given in the section on intellect, the judge was the decision maker while the jury presented the findings upon which to base the decision. The judge could choose to ignore the findings. Feelings are experienced, memory is triggered, reason is used or abused, but the will chooses.
The purpose of this writing is to help you make wise decisions. You must, therefore, have an understanding of the will and the factors that influence it in order for that purpose to be accomplished in your life. If you are intellectually honest, you will gain that understanding. Of course, you can choose not to pursue such an understanding. It is your choice.
If we are going to explain decision making, we must face the issue of man’s free will. If man does not have a will which is free to make choices then any discussion of decision making would be a meaningless exercise. Having a free will does not imply that one cannot submit his decision making to someone else. This is still a choice, if the will is free. Nor does contending that one has a free will infer that one cannot so encumber his will that his decision making capacity is greatly impaired. This would result from a series of incorrect decisions.
Having a free will does not always mean we will receive the results we expect from exercising it. In many areas we do not have the capacity to control the result. When one has a free will he still may not escape the decisions made by others, although he can decide, within a certain range, how those decisions affect him. Having a free will does not depend upon one’s intellectual capacity. One may choose to do something whether or not he understands it fully or has reasoned through the alternatives.
Free will is simply the ability to choose one alternative rather than another, regardless of the outcome of the decision. Stated another way, free will is the unrestrained ability to exercise one’s decision making capacity. The freedom of will does not properly involve a consideration of the consequences of the decision. The consequences may affect the motivation for choosing a course of action, but it is improper to state as true that the consequences of the choice rendered the will incapable of making the choice. For instance, a man is approached by a thief who says, ”Give me your money or I will shoot you,” and he has the apparent means to carry put the threat. The victim has a choice; a decision to make. Does he flee or fight? Does he give up his money or try to keep it? Even though he may lose his life by making the choice to resist, his will is still free to choose that alternative. The consequences may be persuasive, but they do not actually prevent the will’s freedom to choose. In fact, when one chooses a course in life, his choice may be tested by dire consequences. This separates choices of convenience from choices of conviction.
That a man has a free will can only be doubted when one chooses to doubt it. Such a choice paradoxically is an exercise of one’s free will. Even those who verbally contend that man’s will is not free, prove their own free will in their daily actions and decisions. They act as though their lives consist of choices. What do I wear? What do I eat? Where do I work? What do I do with my time? Etc. The motivation for believing that man does not have a free will is usually an attempt to free the believer from being accountable for his decisions and actions. For if one cannot choose between right and wrong, then it is unreasonable to hold him accountable for a wrong choice when there was actually never a choice. Proponents of the belief that man does not have a free will must resort to all sorts of inconsistent explanations for decision making, reasoning, feelings and even life itself. Examine such arguments carefully, keeping in mind that all facets of truth must be consistent with each other.
Truly, human life is a matter of decision making. Without the ability to freely choose between or from alternatives, life would be totally futile. Man would be nothing but a slave to his environment ~ a piece of flotsam caught up in the tide of time and chance. When one recognizes the existence of man’s free will, however, he also recognizes that each individual is a product of his own decisions as well as those decisions of countless others. Therefore, the importance of each individual exercising his will to make correct decisions cannot be exaggerated. Each individual is going to have to make choices. It is not optional.
Many times decisions are made by ‘indecision.’ This is actually a decision. The will has chosen to accept whatever happens, many times because of the perceived inconvenience of reasoning. Man naturally rebels from decision making because his reasoning tells him he is responsible for wrong decisions. His reason is correct. He is accountable in that he and others will live with the events which he has set in motion by his decisions. Because of the fear of accountability (which is rapidly diminishing in America), one may choose not to believe he is accountable. He may also choose the ‘easy route,’ which he perceives as not choosing by letting someone else make the decisions. This explains why many individuals choose to ‘follow the crowd.’ Such decisions give power to peer pressure that does not otherwise exist.
When one attempts to avoid making a decision, he might seek refuge in group decisions. The perception that others are doing the same thing (making the same decisions) gives comfort to the one who has difficulty making decisions. If the others are making wrong decisions, however, their numbers or the size of their group does not relieve each individual from the consequences of his own wrong decisions. Obviously, the consequences of wrong decisions are multiplied by such improper beliefs. This also helps us understand why relativism ( the belief that there are no absolutes) is so pervasive. As the group changes or is inconsistent with other groups, the individual must adopt a belief in relativism to maintain the comfort of being in the group.
The will makes a decision based upon the perceived value of its choices. An inaccurate perception causes an improper choice. It is important for each individual to make proper evaluations. Just because someone believes something to be valuable does not transmit actual value. Even though many people invest their time, energy and possessions in detrimental activities they perceive as valuable, the activities are no less detrimental. The consequences of wrong decisions affect these individuals even though they may refuse to believe this fact. [A belief is a concept that we decide is true, whether it is or not] This lack of acknowledgement further frustrates their decision making process and actually programs their wills for increased failure. For a will to act correctly, it must choose the alternative with the greatest value.
The time factor must be considered in the valuation process. One must consider the future consequences involved in a decision along with the immediate consequences to be able to properly evaluate choices. For instance, many drivers believe it is valuable to exceed the speed limit. The evidence of this perceived value is abundant: just observe drivers on most highways. The value, if any, is actually short term. One may arrive at his destination earlier (not necessarily more relaxed). But is exceeding the speed limit valuable when considering the long term effects? By example it teaches observant children to disobey authority, including their parents’ authority. Most children do not perceive the supposed difference between violating ‘big’ rules and violating ‘little’ rules. Making the bed or taking out the garbage may not appear to the child to be as important as obeying the sign that says “55.” Exceeding the speed limit encourages others to do so. After the posted limited is violated then who sets the limit? The biggest truck? Such action promotes disrespect for rules that are necessary for maintaining an orderly society. Individuals are encouraged to decide which rules they will obey and which rules they will violate. This in turn promotes disorder which increases insecurity. It is interesting that such an ‘innocent’ decision that is perceived as valuable is actually quite detrimental. Again, one can choose to disregard the detrimental effects and continue in the misperception of value. The value of any alternative must be based upon reasonable standards or disorder will result in the lives of individuals as well as in society in general.
The entire decision making process is subject to one’s will. He can choose to become more proficient in his decision making or he can choose to stifle it. He has to make a choice, but he is free to choose from the alternatives. In any case, he is not free from the results of the decision. Since his will is free to choose and does in fact choose, it is the cause of our actions. Keep in mind the truth that every effect has a cause. Our choice and action may not achieve the expected results, the action is caused by the will choosing. Some would argue this point verbally, but observation of their action usually disproves their arguments. Most arguments that run counter to recognizing the freedom of the will to choose are an attempt to escape from the reasonable conclusion that one is responsible for the decision he makes and the action he takes.
The will has the executive function in the decision making process. The choice is made by the will which sets in motion the actions necessary to implement the decision.
