/lit/ - Literature

The answer to your question is that it does not matter. If we believe that we have free will, it is essentially the same as having free will. And the converse is also applicable.

However, the question I find wholly more stimulating is how much our actions are caused by external forces. Obviously our birth circumstances have some control over our destiny, but how much control do we ourselves have?

Thirdly, I have conflicted feelings towards the chaos theory. Yes, it may seem like small actions can affect our lives in huge ways, but I think that had that small action not been performed, one would still head in the same direction regardless. Maybe the small things really don't make a difference (sometimes).