Cause and effect. It is this very simple concept that is one of the foundations of the universe as we know it. Causality is a relationship that exists between events. All events have a cause, and all events create an effect. A cue ball has the effect of putting the eight ball into a pocket, and it was caused by someone hitting it with a cue stick. It is this relationship between cause and effect that has me questioning the validity of free will.
A wanderer is traveling through the woods and he come to a fork in the road. He can either go left, or he can go right. According to the idea of free will, he could choose one direction just as easily as he could choose the other direction. In other words, the original cause begins inside the mind of the wanderer and is not the result of any preceding effect. If one is to believe in free will, then one has to abandon the idea that the universe is governed completely by a cause and effect relationship.
If, on the other hand, one believes in cause and effect then it seems very difficult to reconcile that belief with free will. If the choices that we make every day are the result of preceding events, then can we really say that we have free will? After all, prior events made it impossible for any other decision to be made.
Free will and causality. Is it possible for these two concepts to be compatible with each other, or are they mutually exclusive?