The Emergence Machine

Free Will

abstract · philosophy · Level 11 · E9

E9Cultures

Each concept here is mapped to its prerequisites — the ideas you'd need first to understand it — all the way down to four foundations: Space, Time, Energy, Pattern. Click any prerequisite to drill down, or scroll for the chain graph.

Trace. Question. Emerge.

Emergence definition

The capacity of an agent to make choices that are not predetermined by external causes or causal necessity, allowing for genuine alternatives and self-directed decision-making.

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Wiktionary senses

External reference — all senses of the word “free will” on Wiktionary. This atlas concept maps to only the slice of meaning relevant to the prerequisite graph.

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Source: Wiktionary — “free will”. Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Historical origin

Origin word
free will
Origin language
eng

Prerequisite chain

Possible path of this concept down to the fundamental substrate.

thisfoundationsL11L10L9L8L6L2L1L0Free WillWillMotivationEmotionCognitionMemoryNecessity… intermediate l…AllowForceFormLandActionChangeExistenceMatterEnergyPatternSpaceTimeE1 concrete → E14 abstract

Neighborhood

Direct prerequisites above, concepts that depend on this one below.

thisprerequisitesFree WillL11AllowL2NecessityL6WillL10E1 concrete → E14 abstract

In other languages

Prerequisites

What you need to understand first.

  • Allow L2 (requires)
    Free will: The capacity of an agent to make choices that are not predetermined by external causes or causal necessity, allowing for genuine alternatives and self-directed decision-making.
  • Necessity L6 (requires)
    Free will: The capacity of an agent to make choices that are not predetermined by external causes or causal necessity, allowing for genuine alternatives and self-directed decision-making.
  • Will L10 (requires)
    Free will extends will