Free Will?

An abused dog can't say to himself ''you know what, self? Sure all those years with that abusive owner didn't provide the context for a happy life, but I'm gonna turn myself around. Life's too short, and I'm gonna be a happy dog.'' In order for the dog to be rehabilitated, something from his environment has to ''happen to him.''

Humans, on the other hand, do have the ability to rehabilitate themselves on their own.

Dogs are governed by:
1.) The ''lifeward principle''
2.) Their environment
3.) Something like a subconscious mind, that can only accept what it is told--they are essentially a living, breathing reaction.

Humans are governed by:
1.) The ''lifeward principle''
2.) Their environment
3.) A subconscious mind
4.) A conscious mind

Though not limited to this example, an abused person has the capacity to uplift him/herself because he/she has a conscious, or ''aware'' mind. Choice is a function of awareness. Many people do not experience free will because they are living from reaction to reaction, and everything they do is a reaction to something that happened.