"Free will" is not a terribly well defined notion, but it's usually considered distinct from the concept of consciousness. Moreover, most people tend to define

"Free will" is not a terribly well defined notion, but it's usually considered distinct from the concept of consciousness. Moreover, most people tend to define it in a way that is incompatible with a deterministic universe (indeed, in some cases that is the definition). One can of course be fairly certain that "I think", but that doesn't necessarily mean they can be sure "I decide". Once could instead imagine that our conscious experience is merely a strange phenomena caused by the entirely deterministic actions of our brain, and is merely along for the ride. Now personally, I believe there is no coherent definition of "free will" which is meaningfully distinct from "will", and as such, in as far as it can be said to exist, we must have it. I'd love to be challenged on this, so I'm a little disappointed to see how many people in this thread seem to be making assertions without defining anything. These are incredibly subtle concepts that require precision if we are to have any kind of meaningful discussion.