From Nathaniel Hellerstein
John Clark asked for a definition of free will (Letter, 5 September). Here are three: self-control, self-determination, self-causation.
Freedom, being self-caused, is neither random (uncaused) nor deterministic (externally caused). Since causal loops pervade all living processes, it follows that all life possesses free will, to at least some extent. And if everything in the universe has causes in the universe, then it too possesses freedom, though perhaps not will.
San Francisco, California, US
