Definition of free will Free will
We found 6 definitions of free will from 4 different sources.
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What does free will mean?
WordNet
Noun |
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| free will - the power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies | ||
| discretion | ||
| powerfulness, power possession of controlling influence; "the deterrent power of nuclear weapons"; "the power of his love saved her"; "his powerfulness was concealed by a gentle facade" | ||
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Wiktionary 
- free will (Noun)
A person's natural inclination; unforced choice. - free will (Noun)
The ability to choose one's actions, or determine what reasons are acceptable motivation for actions, without predestination, fate etc.
Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘
- free will
A will free from improper coercion or restraint. - free will
The power asserted of moral beings of willing or choosing without the restraints of physical or absolute necessity.
Wikipedia 
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Free will is the theory that every person can decide what to do freely.
The opposite of free will is determinism. "Determinism" means that, if someone knew everything about someone else, they could work out exactly what that person would do.
Most people think we have free will. But in fact there is a very hard question. If there is free will, then even if somebody else knew everything about us, they would not be able to work out exactly what we would do. The question is, if that is true how do "we" work out what we will do?
If we work out what to do based on things we know or think, then the other person would know that too, because they know everything about us. Then they could work it out in the same way and know what we would do, and there would be no free will. Another idea is that some of the things we use when working out what to do are random. But if what we do is based on something random, does that mean we are "free" or not?
There are also questions about what it would mean if there were no free will. If there were no free will and somebody steals something from you, do we have to let them do so, because they could not have chosen to do anything else?
Some people think that if there were no free will, we would not have to think about anything. But those people are making a mistake. Determinism does not mean that we already know what to do so we do not have to think about it. It means that we do think about it but that our thoughts always end up the same.
One person,
