A few thoughts on free will.

Free will involves self sovereignty, from the simplest of organisms to the more advanced species.

When we ask if free will exists, we are asking if sovereignty and free agency is possible.

Free will can be viewed as a spectrum, from low degrees of sovereignty to higher capacity for autonomy.

If we are intoxicated, our freedom of deliberation is clearly impacted. If we had a brain implant that forced us to carry out someone else's command, we would basically have zero free will, hence no sovereignty.

Considering this spectrum then, from lower to higher degrees of sovereignty, it makes sense to define the higher echelons of self sovereignty as free will, as contrasted by its opposite; complete subjugation to the will of another.

If I would sum up the arguments against free will, in the most favorable way I could steel-man it, what I hear is this: you are the sum of your parts. Hence you must act within the confines of your personality.

This does not contradict the definition of free will as self-sovereignty. We are free to build and change our inner environment to our heart's content. We are free to build positive or negative responses to our experiences. We are free to explore any subject and press beyond our previous boundaries. This doesn't mean that we are without flaws and limitations, just that we have the potential to be sovereign.

We know that colors exist because we can observe a whole spectrum of colors that can be differentiated. Saying that colors doesn't exist gives us no practival advantage when we are dealing with colors, quite the contrary.

Free will is a spectrum that defines the extent of our self sovereignty and free agency. It makes little sense to claim that sovereignty and individual autonomy doesn't exist, unless we want sovereignty to not exist.

It would be a disastrous mistake to claim that an obedient cog-in-the-wheel, who is requiered to follow its commands without the chance of refusing, is equivalent to a free-willed individual with the capacity to break free from its bonds and challenge every command.

Free will exists because we can observe a spectrum of free agency and the more of it we have, the more sovereign we are.

Free agency exists.

The opposite is slavery.