--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Free will doesn’t exist. Only the…" description: "\"“Free will doesn’t exist. Only the illusion of free will, because the causes of our behavior are so complex that we can’t trace them back. If you’ve go..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/orson-scott-card-134_dominoes_free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusio_1043680.jpg" --- # Free will doesn’t exist. Only the illusion of free will… ![“Free will doesn’t exist. Only the illusion of free will, because the causes of our behavior are so complex that we can’t trace them back. If you’ve got one line of dominoes knocking each other down one by one, then you can always say, Look, this domino fell because that one pushed it. But when you…” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/orson-scott-card-134_dominoes_free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusio_1043680.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/orson-scott-card-134_dominoes_free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusio_1043680.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/orson-scott-card-134_dominoes_free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusio_1043680.jpg) > ““Free will doesn’t exist. Only the illusion of free will, because the causes of our behavior are so complex that we can’t trace them back. If you’ve got one line of dominoes knocking each other down one by one, then you can always say, Look, this domino fell because that one pushed it. But when you have an infinite number of directions, you can never find where the casual chain begins. So you think, That domino fell because it wanted to.”” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Free will is an illusion; behavior is driven by complex, untraceable causes, making true autonomy unknowable. **In simple terms:** Free will may be an illusion. Key Takeaway Question the notion of true autonomy. Themes determinism philosophy human behavior Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical skeptical When to use this quote - ethical debate - personal decision making - legal responsibility - mental health counseling Key Concepts causality complex systems psychology Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports true free will? - How does believing in determinism affect moral responsibility? A Different Perspective May overlook personal agency and empowerment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doesn Exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doesn-exist/) [Dominoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominoes/) [Exist Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist-illusion-2224481/) [Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free/) [Free Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-causes-2454221/) [Think Domino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-domino-2454220/) [Xenocide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/xenocide-210041/) ## Related quotes > [“If God created our will, then he's responsible for every choice we make... So-- as I recall, the official philosophical answer is that free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/if-god-created-our-will-then-he-s-responsible-for-every-choice-we/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [There's no such thing as the greatest of all time. It doesn't exist. It's an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/there-s-no-such-thing-as-the-greatest-of-all-time-it-doesn-t-exist-it/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [“I just don't know if people actually perceive which events are miracles and which are not. There are no doubt many miracles claimed which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-just-don-t-know-if-people-actually-perceive-which-events-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“The highest beings of all are the ones who are willing to pay any personal cost for the good of those who need them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-highest-beings-of-all-are-the-ones-who-are-willing-to-pay-any/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“To stop a human being from doing something, you must find a way to make the person stop wanting to do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/to-stop-a-human-being-from-doing-something-you-must-find-a-way-to/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Human beings remain grubs all the lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/human-beings-remain-grubs-all-the-lives/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [To escape the power of the unknown, to prove to yourself that you don't believe in it, you accept its spells. Like an avowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/to-escape-the-power-of-the-unknown-to-prove-to-yourself-that-you-don/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“Free zero-point energy doesn't exist in an illusion of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/free-zero-point-energy-doesn-t-exist-in-an-illusion-of-freedom/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“That's the first rule of command; be consistent! You can be sadistic, you can be lazy, you can be stupid, but if you're consistent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/that-s-the-first-rule-of-command-be-consistent-you-can-be-sadistic/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [“Embedded in the mud, glistening green and gold and black, was a butterfly, very beautiful and very dead. It fell to the floor, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-a-smith/embedded-in-the-mud-glistening-green-and-gold-and-black-was-a/) [Leonard A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-a-smith/) > [When I was in Nashville, Tennessee in 1970 with Derek and the Dominoes, I went into this shop and they had a rack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/when-i-was-in-nashville-tennessee-in-1970-with-derek-and-the-dominoes/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [Life is like dominoes: build, fall, repeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-james-hook/life-is-like-dominoes-build-fall-repeat/) [Joey James Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-james-hook/) > [“Have you ever thought that if one thing hadn't happened, a whole set of things never would have either? Like dominoes in time, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-k-jones/have-you-ever-thought-that-if-one-thing-hadn-t-happened-a-whole-set/) [Kimberly K. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-k-jones/) > [“One bad decision is like building a long line of dominoes and then sneezing and not turning your head”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-kent/one-bad-decision-is-like-building-a-long-line-of-dominoes-and-then/) [Julia Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-kent/) > [If men's minds were like dominoes, surely his would be the double blank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/if-men-s-minds-were-like-dominoes-surely-his-would-be-the-double-blank/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“I don't know of a soul who doesn't maintain two separate lists of doctrines - the ones they believe they believe; and the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-don-t-know-of-a-soul-who-doesn-t-maintain-two-separate-lists-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Good people do not let others suffer needlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/good-people-do-not-let-others-suffer-needlessly/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Dominoes quotes > [If men's minds were like dominoes, surely his would be the double blank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/if-men-s-minds-were-like-dominoes-surely-his-would-be-the-double-blank/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [“One bad decision is like building a long line of dominoes and then sneezing and not turning your head”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-kent/one-bad-decision-is-like-building-a-long-line-of-dominoes-and-then/) [Julia Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-kent/) > [“Have you ever thought that if one thing hadn't happened, a whole set of things never would have either? Like dominoes in time, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-k-jones/have-you-ever-thought-that-if-one-thing-hadn-t-happened-a-whole-set/) [Kimberly K. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-k-jones/) > [Life is like dominoes: build, fall, repeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-james-hook/life-is-like-dominoes-build-fall-repeat/) [Joey James Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-james-hook/) > [When I was in Nashville, Tennessee in 1970 with Derek and the Dominoes, I went into this shop and they had a rack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/when-i-was-in-nashville-tennessee-in-1970-with-derek-and-the-dominoes/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [“Embedded in the mud, glistening green and gold and black, was a butterfly, very beautiful and very dead. It fell to the floor, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-a-smith/embedded-in-the-mud-glistening-green-and-gold-and-black-was-a/) [Leonard A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-a-smith/) > [“That's the first rule of command; be consistent! You can be sadistic, you can be lazy, you can be stupid, but if you're consistent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/that-s-the-first-rule-of-command-be-consistent-you-can-be-sadistic/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [Love is like dominoes I fall for you and you fall for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-newton/love-is-like-dominoes-i-fall-for-you-and-you-fall-for-someone-else/) [Shelby Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-newton/) > [Got them hoes falling like a hundred million dominoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/got-them-hoes-falling-like-a-hundred-million-dominoes/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [We are like dominoes, I fall for you, you fall for another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-like-dominoes-i-fall-for-you-you-fall-for-another/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If God created our will, then he's responsible for every choice we make... So-- as I recall, the official philosophical answer is that free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/if-god-created-our-will-then-he-s-responsible-for-every-choice-we/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I play dominoes all the way until I got Bible study. And then I do Bible study. I go to the game. After the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-butler/i-play-dominoes-all-the-way-until-i-got-bible-study-and-then-i-do/) [Jimmy Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-butler/) > [If we can hit that bull's-eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zapp-brannigan/if-we-can-hit-that-bull-s-eye-the-rest-of-the-dominoes-will-fall-like/) [Zapp Brannigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zapp-brannigan/) > [“Is it God? Did God set up the dominoes and wait for some human to flick the first one? Or is it the opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-wolf/is-it-god-did-god-set-up-the-dominoes-and-wait-for-some-human-to/) [Allan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-wolf/) > [Of course I have played outdoor games. I once played dominoes in an open air cafe in Paris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/of-course-i-have-played-outdoor-games-i-once-played-dominoes-in-an/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Browse all 32 Dominoes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dominoes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Free will doesn’t exist. Only the illusion of free will, because the causes of our behavior are so complex that we can’t trace them back. If you’ve got one line of dominoes knocking each other down one by one, then you can always say, Look, this domino fell because that one pushed it. But when you have an infinite number of directions, you can never find where the casual chain begins. So you think, That domino fell because it wanted to.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orson Scott Card" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusion-of-free-will-because-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dominoes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusion-of-free-will-because-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/orson-scott-card-134_dominoes_free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusio_1043680.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/orson-scott-card-134_dominoes_free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusio_1043680.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/orson-scott-card-134_dominoes_free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusio_1043680.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Free will doesn’t exist. Only the illusion of free will, because the causes of our behavior are so complex…” — Orson Scott Card", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Orson Scott Card", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Free will doesn’t exist. Only the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusion-of-free-will-because-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/free-will-doesn-t-exist-only-the-illusion-of-free-will-because-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```