Free will is the idea that people are in control of their own behavior and their actions result from a conscious decision. The free will ideology also states past events will not implicitly influence present or future actions. Finally, free will says that we are wholly responsible for our actions.
Determinism is that idea that everyone’s course of action is predetermined. Determinism would mean that if we were to go back in time and relive what we have already experienced, no events or conditions would be altered. Conversely, determinism says if we were able to gather substantial information, we could accurately predict the future.
What does Camus think?
Albert Camus believes in a person’s ability to have free will that within what is predetermined and has a novel hypothesis about consciousness. In his essay on Sisyphus he writes, “If this myth is tragic, that is because its hero is conscious” (2). His argument says by maintaining the illusion of free will we are able to avoid tragedy. There are certain things we are fated to do; certain toils we must endure, certain successes we will have, certain journeys we will go on. But how we get from point A to point B—what music we listen to while we do our chores, what color pen we will use on the science test we are about to ace, whether to take I-290 or side streets to get downtown—is where we can exercise our freedom. The major plot points are already laid out, but we get to write in the details.
We must be careful, he implies, of getting too caught up in the things we cannot control, because by doing so we will find ourselves disheartened and stagnant. We must find where freedom hides and savor it when we do.
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