Resonant Networks

 A friend of mine and I were talking about whether free will exists or not at a coffee house on Haight and Masonic in San Francisco. He was leaning towards "no." So I said, "it does, but most people aren't exercising it." Most people are not exercising their free will because their choices, behaviors, etc. are dedicated by many factors. For instance, if you chose coffee over beer, I'd ask you, "why did you choose coffee over beer?" You might say something like, "I chose coffee because I wanted it." In this case, your desire made the choice, not you. So I'd ask you again, "why did you choose coffee over beer?" You might say something like, "I chose coffee because I like the taste of coffee better than beer." Your preference made the choice, not you, this time. So I'd ask you again, "why did you choose coffee over beer?" You might say something like, "I chose coffee because it's healthier." Here, your reasoning made the choice. Of course, this can go on and on and go. As you can see, or maybe not, desires, preferences, reasons, etc. are making choices. Consider that anytime a choice is justified, it is not based on free will.