Shadows of Autonomy: The Maze of the Mind

In the silence of our minds, we stand.
Choices before us, and courses unplanned.
We seek independence, a guiding light.
Shadows, however, glide undetected through the night.

The hand that comes up, the stride we take,
An echo of thoughts you never did make.
A murmur in the darkness, so faint
A brush of fate in a choice you paint.

The mind, the maze of mist-shrouded streams,
Where consciousness drifts on borrowed dreams.
Reasons understood — firm and true,
But currents below will carry us through.

Is it our choice, or do choices select us?
In the dance of life, who can we trust?
For in the brain’s deep, quiet scheme:
Free will may only be a waking dream.

Afterword

What is life if not the play of a mind that believes it is in control?

The concept that individuals have the ability to make decisions irrespective of external pressures is profoundly ingrained in our view of human agency. However, there has always been an existent questioning of the idea of free will, implying that subconscious processes may have a greater influence on our actions than we know.

How can biases and underlying processes influence the choices we make, and how does this relate to our sense of autonomy? Got a thought? Let’s discuss/debate/deliberate.

We believe in routes we think we know.