We have free will if we have the autonomous power to make decisions about our own direction in life and act on them.
Whether we really have free will or not has been debated since the great philosophers, and is still debated now.
ABOUT FREE WILL
Social dynamics are complex, and we are the product of different social institutions. i may choose to study social sciences, and that decision is because of my interpretation of my interests, but these interests of mine are arguably the product of the accumulation of my understanding about the external world, including my economic and geographical restraints.
So, the degree of free will that i have is to choose a course of study. Some choose them based on commercial marketing, some choose them because the media has strongly suggested a particular course will earn you money. my decision in probably influenced by a lot of things, including marketing, expectations of my parents, peer influences, my concern with money etc.
Every life decision we make appears to us to be exercising free will, but look closer and we find it difficult to say “i do this originally, fully, authentically because it is my decision”. We have small or limited autonomies within a larger system.
Of course, we can always try to be conscious more about our life, and try to maximise our degree of autonomy, by resisting and rejecting artificial forms of influence. We could stop going into shopping malls and buy from the local market to resist the commercial world, or stop buying fast food and start cooking. But can we ever escape from the influences of the larger world we live in?
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH BDSM?
If you’ve followed my logic up until now, what i’ve been saying is that actually none of us hold free will. What we have is a certain degree of free will. We can expand that degree of free will by understanding it (ie buying at the local markets or rejecting fast food). It may sound illogical, but i also think we can expand it through submission and slavery in BDSM.
Choosing BDSM, in some ways resists the cultural norm. It’s not an easy task. you need a certain strength of conviction in your autonomy to exclude yourself from the “norm”. Yes, it has its own strong community, but it’s a lifestyle that is rejected by the public. Just making the decision to explore BDSM is exercising free will and enlarging your sense of individuality.
submissives or slaves may seem to give up their free will to their Dom or Master, but actually, isn’t the opposite occuring? They are strongly exercising their free will in choosing something they wish to give dedication and loyalty to. It’s a twisted concept, i know, but i’d argue that “giving up free will is actually exercising free will”.