Does free will really exist?

Philosophers through the ages have long debated if free will–the ability to decide one’s own fate–really exists. Though many religious beliefs and personal experiences say the answer to that question is ‘yes,’ science has long been unable to verify the theories that free will is nothing more than an illusion or is an absolute.

The argument that free will isn’t truly free comes from Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of classical mechanics. According to Newton, a “freely” made decision ultimately is predetermined by the actions that preceded it, meaning that it isn’t truly a split-second choice demonstrating free will.

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On the flip side of the coin, however, quantum physics argues that the nature of subatomic particles is inherently unpredictable, meaning that there is a tiny window for free will to operate in day-to-day life.

So who is correct? Does free will exist or is it really an illusion?

Science has just added a new batch of evidence to the mix? but experts say it doesn’t support or debunk free will but instead sheds light on some of the mysteries of the brain.

What the new evidence has revealed about free will

Researchers from the University of California, Davis, have found that electrical activity in the brain, previously considered to be just random “noise,” is actually a predictor of an individual’s choice when presented with a question of free will.

“[Though] purposeful intentions, desires and goals drive our decisions in a linear cause-and-effect kind of way, our finding shows that our decisions are also influenced by neural noise within any given moment,” study co-author Jesse Bengson, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Davis, wrote in an email to Live Science. “This random firing, or noise, may even be the carrier upon which our consciousness rides, in the same way that radio static is used to carry a radio station.”

In a study of brain waves, Bengson and his team discovered electrical activity in a person’s brain could accurately predict a decision approximately 800 milliseconds before they voiced their choice or showed conscious recognition of having made a decision.

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Prior to this research, scientists often filtered out the random electrical signals in the brain as meaningless background noise, but this study indicates the brain may not ever really perform an activity without a very specific purpose.

“That’s what’s wild about it; it’s not all noise,” Rick Addante, a neuroscientist at the University of Texas at Dallas who was not involved in the research, told Live Science. “The question then becomes, what is it, and what is the information that it contains? If there’s something else occurring before our conscious awareness that’s contributing to our decision, that raises the question about the extent of our free will.”

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It does not, however, prove or disprove free will, he added.

Other experts indicate the study could actually be seen as a blow to supporters of a free will theory, and that free will is actually a creation of the brain to make life more bearable. Without the feeling of free will, researchers say it is unlikely humans would have been able to survive and prosper as they have; a life without free will is ultimately a depressing concept.