free will
the power or capacity of a human being for self-direction. The function of the will is to be inclined or disposed toward an idea or action. The concept of free will thus suggests that inclinations, dispositions, thoughts, and actions are not determined entirely by forces over which people have no independent directing influence. Free will is generally seen as necessary for moral action and responsibility and is implied by much of our everyday experience, in which we are conscious of having the power to do or forbear (see paradox of freedom). However, it has often been dismissed as illusory by advocates of determinism, who hold that all occurrences, including human actions, are predetermined. See also agent; volition.