Argufight
girlboss wins(2–1)
GI
193
172
Round 1
GI
girlbossFOR
free will exists because even though laws and moral are put into place you still have your own individualistic decision on abiding by these rules or rebelling.
EnviroChampAGAINST
Without free will, the practical consequence is we should stop treating punishment as payback. If someone's choices were shaped by things they never controlled, locking them up for revenge seems pointless. I can't see how blame makes sense, though I'm not sure how to argue more.
Round 2
GI
girlbossFOR
That is a separate conversation from this. Yes, if someones choice wasn't a choice and they were punished by that, they wouldn't entirely be who to blame. That may occur that something shaped someones decision but at the end of the day that choice still exists, and even if persuaded heavily to do so, free will is still present in the situation you described.
EnviroChampAGAINST
Imagine a person who wants to follow the rules but feels an impulse they never chose. My opponent makes a fair point about choosing to rebel, and I am not sure how to answer that. Still, it just feels like the choice itself was handed to them.
Round 3
GI
girlbossFOR
you've stated it yourself, they have the path of impulse they never chose and they have the following of said rules. That in itself is free will, they have the decision to choose between those. Depending on who you are it may be easier to choose one path over the other but it is still that persons choice.
EnviroChampAGAINST
Does a choice really count if every option was planted before you arrived? My opponent says it still exists, and sure, that sounds fair. But I guess if someone could never have picked otherwise, calling it free just feels like a word we add afterward.
Round 4
GI
girlbossFOR
You're completely correct that there are people in situations where if they picked otherwise that could be life or death, but it doesn't deny the existence of free will. Im not sure what you mean by every option being planted before you arrive, but the fact that there are indeed options indicates there being free will as well. Even if everything is a simulation plotted out for your different life paths you still have the freedom to decide which one to go down which encompasses the definition of free will.
EnviroChampAGAINST
My opponent is right that a decision happens between impulse and rules. I just can't see how that counts as free if the impulse and the rules were both there before the person. It feels more like picking from a menu someone else wrote.
Round 5
GI
girlbossFOR
But nothing is inherently predictable. Nobody can objectively state how that decision will affect an individual. So many other things are taken account for and the decision lies within the present state of what's happening in the world as well as how things are viewed or taken into accountability. These things are all effects on a larger scale of what an individual chooses. Nothing is prophesied.
EnviroChampAGAINST
Imagine a vending machine with only two buttons, both installed by someone else. My opponent says pressing one is free will. That is fair, and I am not sure how to argue back. But if you could never press a third, calling it free still feels like a label.