Free Will

"...Think of a lion in Africa. Do you think it makes up its mind to be a beast of prey? Is that why it attacks a limping antelope? Could it instead have made up its mind to be a vegetarian? [It obeys] the laws of nature. So do you...

"You could, of course protest...that a lion is an animal and not a free human being with free mental faculties. But think of a newborn baby that screams and yells. If it doesn't get milk it sucks its thumb. Does that baby have a free will? ...When does the child get its free will, then? At the age of two, she runs around and points at everything in sight. At the age of three she nags her mother, and at the age of four she suddenly gets afraid of the dark. Where's the freedom...?

"She is [herself], certainly. But she also lives according to the laws of nature. The point is she doesn't realize it because there are so many complex reasons for everything she does.

"Two equally old trees are growing in a large garden. One of the trees grows in a sunny spot and has plenty of good soil and water. The other tree grows in poor soil in a dark spot. Which of the trees do you think is bigger? And which of them bears more fruit?

"Obviously the tree with the best conditions for growing."

"According to Spinoza, this tree is free. It has its full freedom to develop its inherent abilities. But if it is an apple tree it will not have the ability to bear pears or plums. The same applies to us humans. We can be hindered in our development and our personal growth by... outer circumstances... Only when we are free to develop our innate abilities can we live as free beings. But we are just as determined by inner potential and outer opportunities as the...lion in Africa, or the apple tree in the garden."