Winner of the Student Writer Award Gold Medal, Analytical Essay Category (3rd-4th Year). In the attempt to prove free will, we tend to search for an objective truth; something that is scientifically provable, similarly to laws of physics or evolution; something that provides an accurate account of how the world works. The deterministic nature of Newtonian physics supports a worldview in which free will is impossible—free will is an illusion. Contrary, Quantum physics offers a challenge to this because it has properties that appear to us as in-deterministic. Aspects of quantum physics like the wave function of a particle and Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, indicate that we cannot determine both the position and velocity of a particle simultaneously, therefore we cannot predict the particles behavior since we lack the acquisition of key components required to make the prediction. Particle physics therefore has an in-deterministic nature and perhaps allows for freedom to take place. I would like to delve into a deeper understanding of these microscopic in-deterministic properties to prove that they do not translate to the macroscopic world and further, that there indeterminacy offers no foundation to free will.
