Poll: Free Will and Pain or Freedom and Happiness?

[AdeptaSororitas]

Hello my good Escapees (and bad), your friendly Sister of Battle here.

I've got another question buzzing around in my noggin and this time its not about sex (gasp). Today I'm instead asking a rather serious question: Would you rather YOU PERSONALLY have Free Will, or Freedom? Now at first glance the two choices for my question may seem a little ill defined, so lets dive into a scenario:

You find yourself in prison one day in a country run by a dictatorial government. You're given two choices, live entirely as you wish in your prison cell, a prisoner for the remander of your life, or undergo a behavioral modification that limits your choices in life to only those the government approves of. They will be generally be non-dangerous to you personally, you will however still be completely conscious of your choices, but trapped, so if the government had you cheat on your wife, you would be unable to NOT cheat, but you would be fully aware that you're doing it, however; you'll know that in doing so you've bettered your community in some way.

So escapists, would you rather doom yourself to living in personality devoid shells, or live in constant strife and struggle? And what would be the fate of the world?

Edit: Also, WHY would you choose what you did? WHY is either happiness or Free Will so important to you?

 

[FalloutJack]

I'm confused. Freedom doesn't belong in the controlled happiness column.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

It's a catch 22 but both options leave you in some kind of cage. Either the physical or the mental. Myself I think I'd take the physical cage, but retain my free will. Regardless, I'd prefer to die if those were my only options. A life in jail isn't worth living, and a life without free will is worth even less.

 

[CodeOrange]

Chaos or Law... Although this is more like Chaos without the benefit of freedom, and Law with the ability to think, albeit still under control by an aristocracy that is able to control your every move.

As humans are able to adapt to their roles pretty well (according to research done by a certain psychologist, can't remember his name), I'd have to go with the Law path. At least you're living with benefits. We don't know how well you could live your life in prison. Besides, if they could control our actions, it would just become the social norm, wouldn't it?

What would be the fate of the world? What is a messiah if he's trapped in prison, probably among other uncontrollable criminals or unable to act because he/she would probably be thrown into said prison, if not killed.

 

[Peter Storer]

By definition if you are locked in a prison cell your free will is being impinged upon. You cant choose where to go, what to do, who to talk to, what to eat... And you can be forced to do whatever your imprisoners want. (Everyone has a breaking point).

 

[smithy_2045]

You don't have freedom either way.

 

[Hairetos]

Happiness.

Screw everything else. Happiness is more important than anything in this life.

 

[Grell Sutcliff]

I chose free will because If your mind is being controlled then you're less free then when you were in the cell where you could think about what ever you wanted to think about. In other words I don't want to be someone else's puppet where they could pull my strings for their own ameusment. Also they could put you through worse tortures than being in a cell if you were there mind slave.

 

[DarthFennec]

They ... both sound pretty horrible ... but if I had to decide I'd do prison. Even if I was physically constrained like that, it would be so much better than having my mind controlled by some third party. That's real torture, there's no happiness in that. Freedom doesn't exist without free will.

It's just a different kind of prison. A much worse kind.

 

[Kae]

I chose free will because I already have myself trapped in my apartment only thing would be the lack of entertainment like this place or Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre and Fire Emblem, anyway I rather become raving mad in a prison cell than being ordered around without the possibility of disobeying, I mean I get pissed off if someone orders me one thing I don't think I could live with myself if I had to follow those orders.

 

[GoldenFish]

Order is good. Just as long as someone reasonable is in charge.

 

[akaFortySeven]

I'll take a prision cell and hope for a change of goverment

 

[Saulkar]

No one controls me, I am my own me and that is all I ever will be or allow myself to be.

 

[Saulkar]

free will. Cause even if i am a prisoner in a sense i can still think for myself and am not a prisoner in my own body.

Hell with all that gold and those jewels you could probably just bribe your way out of the country.

 

[Jedoro]

I am a self-willed hero who makes his own fate.

If I'm mentally free, there's the chance I can escape. Or die trying, which is still a win.

 

[StBishop]

I don't feel the poll options reflect the options available in the scenario you've given us.

The OP makes it sound more like: Physical Cage, but with free will VS. Mental cage, physically free, but there's a manual override button in your head which can kick in at any moment.

I'd take the incarceration. There's no point being out of a cage if you cannot control your body, it's essentially a smaller cage where your name can be dragged through mud.