Existential Originality

In failing to align with reason, a person fails to grasp their own nature as an individual to the largest extent possible.  It is easy for someone who is not thoroughly committed to discovering truth to live without deeply analyzing their own mind, their own will and its freedom included.  To neglect one's free will is to neglect the ramifications of one's respective autonomy.  A very personal feature of consciousness, free will is the foundation of an existential originality that few openly embrace.

The very nature of free will and individuality is that they distinguish one being from another even if no other obvious outward characteristics do so, and even if other people have made the same decisions in the past.  Free will, by virtue of requiring a conscious mind, is a feature that is wielded according to one's subjective desires.  It is the fact that it is impossible for one being with free will to literally make decisions for another being that also possesses free will that grounds existential originality even if all humanly possible decisions had already been made.

Originality, after all, is not only displayed in novelty.  Autonomy--when one's worldview and decisions are one's own--is another manifestation of originality.  On a moment by moment basis, each person exercises a kind of autonomy that, while it is available to all people, inescapably comes forth from the unique identity of each individual.  Many do not choose to explore this existential originality in a spectacular way, preferring to live for fallacies or petty goals.  Each person has the autonomy to control their will nonetheless; how a person will wield their volitional liberty is completely up to them.

The extent to which a person comprehends, utilizes, and celebrates this existential originality is often tied directly to his or her sense of fulfillment as an individual and as a human.  In this regard, it is in the best interest of many who neglect to recognize their autonomy to intentionally live in its light.  There is a deep empowerment that can be found in recognizing and dissecting one's free will, but for this empowerment to not be illusory, one must understand their free will on its own terms, rejecting assumptions in favor of the knowledge that can be obtained through reason.