Free Will and Quantum Indeterminacy

Winner of the Student Writer Award Gold Medal, Analytical Essay Category (3rd-4th Year). In the attempt to prove free will, we tend to search for an objective truth; something that is scientifically provable, similarly to laws of physics or evolution; something that provides an accurate account of how the world works. The deterministic nature of Newtonian physics supports a worldview in which free will is impossible—free will is an illusion. Contrary, Quantum physics offers a challenge to this because it has properties that appear to us as in-deterministic. Aspects of quantum physics like the wave function of a particle and Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, indicate that we cannot determine both the position and velocity of a particle simultaneously, therefore we cannot predict the particles behavior since we lack the acquisition of key components required to make the prediction. Particle physics therefore has an in-deterministic nature and perhaps allows for freedom to take place. I would like to delve into a deeper understanding of these microscopic in-deterministic properties to prove that they do not translate to the macroscopic world and further, that there indeterminacy offers no foundation to free will.Student Writer Awards 2020Copyright held by authors.Free willQuantum IndeterminacyQuantum physicsPhysicsPhilosophyAgora 202