Yes, I had said we have instincts already, I understand we do.
But we do not have to play into them. That is the point of being conscious.
Consciousness frees itself by understanding the aspects of the subconscious mind.
That’s generally how instincts work yeah, we have a stomach, we didn’t eat, it growls to let us know, we can choose to listen or we can choose to ignore it. It’s a simple warning with simple answers in response. This doesn’t mean the will is not free.
What does the stomach growling have to do with having a mind that’s free? The body is instinctual, the mind doesn’t have to be, the contrast shows in reality of who is controlled by instincts and who isn’t. What’s the point of wisdom or psychology if not to control your own instincts?
Determinism exists, didn’t state it didn’t but it doesn’t negate a free will or free thought. Just because my stomach growls does not mean I automatically have to think of hunger, it’s a good warning though, I could be thinking of a million different things however and I can make a conscious decision on what I wish to do, which has effects I can estimate and predict the outcome. So then how can one be trapped in instinct or by cause/effect if you already know the end game?
It’s like a man seeing a bear trap, his curious instinctual nature taunts him into wanting to understand it, he can choose to step in it or not, he steps in it and then says he has no free will because of the effects and his nature being curiosity, even when he had the option to not.
We are only as bound so far as we let ourselves become bound. The subconscious mind is undeniable, I argue for the subconscious, not against it, I however do argue for multiple levels of consciousness and not solely relying on the subconscious to blame.
What I have noticed is that most seem to confuse the body and choice with the freedom of will, the two are not to be conflated. It is obvious the body communicates, the will does not have to listen. Hence, Evolutions trial and error.
We used to be purely instinctual and not conscious but here we are now, conscious. There are levels. It is due to the subconscious of which we experienced a string of infinity that granted us consciousness, complex development of sensory organs due to trial and error and preservation. The will is free now because we worked for it in the past and some choose to throw their will away, it’s laughable. Those who chain themselves, might as well return back to the dirt.