Do we have free will?

When I read John Mill’s “on liberty” I asked myself how free do we want to be and how free can we be in a society? How much power does society have over our own freedom and do we have choices that are completely free?

If the world is deterministic, then none of our actions can be seen as free.
If this is the case then everything we chose was already pre-determined and thus we wouldn’t have free will. So how do we know if we are really free? Do we really have free will? And if so, what exactly is “free will?” Rene Descartes identifies free will with the freedom of choice, “the ability to do or not to do something” (Meditation IV), and even goes so far as to declare that “the will is by its nature so free that it can never be constrained”.

Part of me, however, wants to distinguish freedom of will and freedom of action. We may be able to have free will but are often limited in carrying it out in part on factors that are beyond our control. There are always external constraints on the range of options we believe to have. Furthermore, by making our free choices we often limit our own freedom. For example, if I make a conscious free choice to get married to a certain person I most likely will not be able to pursue other persons as well as a possible romantic prospect.

However, Mill didn’t seem very interested in these questions in his work “on liberty.” His aim was a completely different one. He was not so much interested in the metaphysical aspect of freedom and liberty but more in civil liberties. The questions he asked AND answered:

• How much power should society and government have over its citizens?
• What are and what should be our civil liberties?

Undoubtedly there is a struggle between liberty and society. Civil liberties seem to be set by each government. We define Civil liberties as rights and freedoms that provide individual specific rights such as the right to life, freedom and the right to liberty and security, the right to privacy. So interestingly the government decides what our civil liberties are but in the same sense they “guarantee” us the right to liberty and security. We must limit government’s power so that we can preserve our rights. But we must give government enough power to allow it to protect us. Liberty and Authority are thus in constant conflict.
Liberty implies self-government over our bodies and our minds. That gives us individuality. If we lack individuality, we thereby lack freedom, and we thereby lack what makes us human.
No society can be free in which social liberties are disrespected. This is true no matter what its form of government is. So what are these all-important liberties for John Stuart Mill?

• The Right to Privacy
• Freedom of Thought
• Freedom of Publication and Freedom of the Press.

Depriving anyone of the freedom to express her thoughts takes away her civil liberties.
I do agree with Mill that everyone who receives the protection of society owes a return for the benefit, and the fact of living in society renders it indispensable that each should be bound to observe a certain line of conduct towards the rest.

Although human beings are individuals after all they have chosen (or were coerced) to live within a society, which implemented a set of rules and laws to its members for a better, more harmonious way of living for all of its members. I do agree with Mill on every aspect he discusses in his work. I think freely which leads me to the conclusion that what Mill proclaims as individual freedom is the best freedom we can hope to achieve within a society, ending with his words: “ The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental or spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.” (John Stuart Mill on “Liberty”)
Having true freedom to me means that we are free emotionally and mentally. Free of judgments and limitations. True freedom is when deep in our Soul, we are content.