The Free Will Problem

Determinism: The universe operates in accordance with the causal principle that every event has a cause. Determinists believe that our actions can ultimately be traced back to factors beyond our control, thereby robbing us of our free-will. (Pg. 288-9)
Basically, an event is caused by the previous event, and that event will cause the next event, and so on....
But where does it all start?

My opinion is that determinism is non-sense. Our actions are going to be what they are going to be, but we choose what those actions are. The future may be set in stone, and we can't change it: what's going to happen IS going to happen. But that doesn't mean that we don't have free will. We still choose every one of our actions. This paradox is often presented in TV/movies/books when time travel is involved. It becomes very confusing, and it makes your head hurt trying to think about it. There's no point though, because time travel is impossible (although traveling to the 'future' would be possible if you spent time close to a black hole and returned to earth).

I can see where determinists might be coming from though. If our actions are determined by our previous state then it might make sense that life is just a series of chain reactions.

But it doesn't make sense to me, and It doesn't even have a ring of plausability to it, in my opinion. Our actions aren't always determined by how we feel at a deep level, and sometimes we act against those feelings.

Consider what goes on during a decision making process. Many decisions we make, the programmed decisions, are made impulsively and out of habit. Sometimes, if I am thinking about something else, I will flip the light switch when leaving a room, even if it was off in the first place! Maybe this is what determinists are thinking? But it is just out of habit, and more important are the larger decisions we have to make. They are not made quickly, and, as discussed previously, reason and emotion have to be considered. Difficult decisions require a great deal of thought, and this is why I don't think determinism is true, and that we do have free will.

A final point is that free will is not to be confused with what you can physically do and what you are allowed or not allowed to do. If your parents or teachers say you have to do something, you might feel that you don't have free will anymore. But you don't have to do those things. It's just wise to.