NEW ESSAY: How Buddhism Dissolves the Free Will Dilemma

Image credit: Pixabay

Here’s the latest essay I published in my ongoing project Power of Meanings // Meanings of Power. 

This piece explores the paradox of free will — a question that may seem abstract, but that shapes how we treat one another, how we design our institutions, and how societies handle conflict. We rarely ask ourselves outright whether free will exists, yet most of us live as if the answer were obvious. That assumption has consequences: it colors how we judge others, how we judge ourselves, and even how we divide into polarized camps.

In the essay, I trace how Western philosophy has wrestled with this paradox for centuries, and how Buddhism approaches it from a different angle. By questioning the very notion of a fixed self, Buddhism dissolves the dilemma and shifts the focus from abstract debates to the practical question of conditions and responses. The result is not only a resolution to a philosophical puzzle, but also a more compassionate and realistic way of thinking about daily life, justice, and politics.
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You can read the essay here.