Have you ever asked yourself the question “What if had I made a different choice?”? This idea implies the possibility of a hypothetical world that is exactly the same as ours up to the point where the decision splits and leads to different consequences. Here lies the assumtion that making a different choice was possible in the first place. Looking at the problem through the lense of logic and causality reveals that every choice is determined by the events that have happened in the past, because that is how the closed systems work. The furure of a closed system is determined only by its present state that is in turn determined by its previous state. Even the most complex thisngs like human relationshpis and economics are essentially the consequences of an unimaginable number of particles interacting on small and large scale.
One could argue that randomness is what allows for the existence of alternative relities where a different choice is made. However everything that we call random is actually deterinistic. Consider a simple coin flip. If the mass, initial velocity, density, shape and everything else that can affect the result is know, then the final position of the coin becomes a matter of computation. By applying those principles further it becomes clear that something as “random” as winning a lottery is a determined event.
Quantum phenomena are often regarded as true randomness. Though there is no known way to predict events on a subatomic level without adopting the probabilistic approach, there is also no denying of some hidden force that affects the processes. Essentially, saying that somethig is random means that either there is no method of predicting the outcome, or determining it involves so much computation that it becomes impossible. One such exaple is the weather forecast. According to chaos theory even slightest differences in initial parameters accumulate a substantional effect in the long-term.
Conscious choices are no different from any other pysical phenomenon. Just like randomness is merely a convention that helps make things easier to understand, free will is something that helps society operate. While there is no freedom on the grand scale, it is real enough to be the essential aspect of hummanity.
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