Free Will: Fact or Fiction?

Experiments suggest that conscious choice is an illusion ... what choice will you make as a result?

Interesting article today in the NYTimes Science section entitled:

"Free Will: Now You Have It, Now You Don't"

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The article suggests that recent experiments tilt toward the deterministic version of explaining how stuff happens - ie, that ultimately, we're just biological machines whose actions are determined by the chain of events to which we're exposed. And, if you could solve all the equations, you could determine how people would act - thus refuting the idea of free will. My favorite line of the piece says that "... the conscious mind is like a monkey riding a tiger of subconscious decisions and actions in progress, frantically making up stories about being in control." What a great metaphor!

While the science is intriguing, the bottom line for me stays the same. Maybe free will exists, or maybe it's an illusion. But since we'll never solve all the equations to find out (in my lifetime at least), then it becomes a bit like Pascal's Wager. Which is a better way to lead your life - assuming free will exists, or assuming it doesn't?

For me that's an easy answer - assuming I have free will makes me morally responsible for my actions, and for me, that's a better way to live my life.