One of the perennial questions of philosophy is the question of free will. Are we in some sense really free to make genuine choices - the choice whether to tell the truth or lie, the choice whether to go to class or sleep in, the choice whether to have eggs or pancakes, or both, for breakfast, etc.? Or are all these apparent decisions actually illusory consequences of influences exerted upon us throughout our lifetime by our genes or by our environment?
The answer we give to this question is crucially important. It matters for reasons mentioned in this six minute video on the topic as well as for others that the video doesn't mention.
One thing you should bear in mind as you watch. If you believe that you're free to choose, if you believe that there are at least some junctures in your life at which there are more than one possible futures, then you're at least tacitly committed to some version of theism. Between theism and naturalism (the belief that physical nature is all there is) only theism has room for a belief in free will.
On naturalism there's simply no way to justify that belief. The video explains why:
