"Time between when a decision was made and the awareness of it" != "Not having free will"
Given that we have to make decisions all the time it's natural an unconscious heuristic could exist, but that, again, doesn't mean "not having free will".
Given that we have to make decisions all the time it's natural an unconscious heuristic could exist, but that, again, doesn't mean "not having free will".
If you think that "free will" is becoming aware of your decisions just when you make them, consider the fact that the human perception of "Now" spreads over 3 seconds or more. The ordering of two events can swap up to 5-7 seconds in some cases (ever feel that you are thinking about somebody and then they call you).
There is some evidence that your brain does stuff parallel and out of order and then marshals them into stream of consciousnesses where causality of internal processes seems right.
Yet the idea of free will is so empowering that I choose to go with it even when it would make sense short term to deny it.
Seriously, even if it wasn't true and somebody here starts to believe it - even if that thought weren't a real decision but just a response to my persuasion skills - even then it would probably make a positive impact on their life.
Is everything in my life a product of my own decicions? No. I've been dealt a good hand. But after I learned to decide for myself it became better.
FWIW I've also no idea who would downvote you, your position seems reasonable even if we disagree strongly. If anyone think what you say is wrong I'd urge them to pst evidence instead of just downvoting.
For we act not only under external compulsion but also by inner necessity.