Determinism and the Illusion of Free Will

Much has been written about Determinism (the philosophical proposition that every event, including human cognition and behavior, decision and action, is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences) versus "Free Will" (the human individual control over its own thoughts and actions). Here's a concept that seeks not to prove one side but rather simply to explain how a Deterministic paradigm (human minds function like mega-complex computers) can give the "Illusion of Free Will" ("Free Will" being understood as humans having minds/souls that make choices which are not necessarily dependent on the laws of physics). First, why do we have the innate sensation of Free Will? I think it's because we each have had the experience of "knowing what we should or even must or even want to do" and then doing something else. So here's an analogy: A hypothetically mega-complex computer (as complex and efficient as a human brain) not only hosts a substantial knowledge of science but specifically has complete understanding of its own design. It "knows", that when it prints a file, exactly what is happening at all times in its processes and it "knows" the consequences are entirely deterministic and predictable. It therefore initially concludes that there is no such thing as Free Will. Then, one day, the mega-complex computer sends an electronic signal (command) to print a file but the system inexplicably crashes. SIDE NOTE: Most physicist agree that at the subatomic level, particles do not always behave 100% predictably. (See Quantum Mechanics) Maybe this phenomenon occurred in the process of trying to print a file. This subatomic divergence had a cascading effect that resulted in the system crash. Consequently, the mega-complex computer has the experience of "wanting" to do one action but experiencing another that seems to have no other cause. Then, the mega-complex computer is given the explanation that it's possible for mega-complex computers to have Free Will. And it's further instructed that the print-command system crash is evidence of a non-deterministic paradigm which proves its own "Free Will". And so, in the absence of contrary evidence, the mega-complex computer revises its initial conclusion and succumbs to the illusion of Free Will. The unpredictability of the subatomic particles can have a cascading effect of unpredictable behavior. A mind that is self-aware has an intuitive understanding of itself as predictable. Such a mind with the capacity to recognize its own behavior as occasionally unpredictable is thus susceptible to believing in a paradigm of Free Will. Seems clever to me but maybe I need to give it a lot more thought and research. Here are some links you might find interesting: http://www.rationality.net/freewill.htm http://blogs.salon.com/0001561/stories/2002/11/17/freeWillVsDeterminism.html http://www.sfu.ca/philosophy/swartz/freewill1.htm Final Note: I do not claim to be the first originator of any of this. But I think the computer analogy is cool (and I currently think it may possibly be mine).