I Am Going to Say Something Controversial

I just logged in and there was this long thread about "happiness is a choice" and lots of comments about the "choices" we make in life. Well, here's a thought: there's no such thing as "free will", and every choice we make is essentially out of our control. Why? I'll explain:

Every "choice" we make is based on a) information we have and b) genetic dispositions we didn't chose (e.g., being risk-adverse or careless; being extroverted or introverted, etc.) Thus, every choice we make is the direct product of things that are inherently out of our control.

Free will is a myth. All things we "chose" to do, to think, to feel, are a consequence of things out of our control: the information we have, via all we've heard and seen, and genetic dispositions we cannot control.

So to hear people saying that "happiness is a choice" beyond pisses me off.

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GJOFJ3 · 61-69, M

Your theory is easily disproven.
I'm the middle of seven children, same father, same mother, raised on the same farm, all ate the same food, attended the same school, went to the same church.
As adults we all chose different paths. Different education choices, different life styles, different religions.
None of us chose farming as a career, none of us stayed in the religion we were raised in.
We all exercised our free will to choose our own path and our own happiness.

Axeroberts · 56-60, M

But often two people pick two different options in the same situation. Is that not free choice ?

xixgun · M

While I may not agree with everything you say, I do agree that happiness is not always a choice.
No one chooses to be terminally ill, have physical deformities which cause difficulties in day to day life, chooses to be poor (as some people DO choose to be homeless), etc.

So in those instances, "happiness is a choice", is indeed - bullshit.

bijouxbroussard · F

That’s a statement I’ve never agreed with either. I suffer from clinical depression, and it’s hereditary. I certainly didn’t choose that. I choose to have it treated, but I’ve found contentment more realistic than “happiness” as the possible end result. So I have enough free will to resist defeat. But that’s not quite happiness.

Stilltryinghard

People see/hear and say. That's why we hear that. Logical contradictions?

Baaaaa!

Lilnonames · F

Being pissed off is a choice lol

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