Context:
Free will is the ability of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_(philosophy) to make
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice unconstrained by certain factors. Factors of historical concern have included metaphysical constraints (such as logical, nomological, or theological
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism), physical constraints (such as chains or imprisonment), social constraints (such as threat of punishment or censure, or structural constraints), and mental constraints (such as compulsions or phobias, neurological disorders, or genetic predispositions). The principle of free will has
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics, and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science implications.
[1] For example, in the religious realm, free will implies that individual
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_(philosophy) and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice can coexist with an
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divinity.
In the law, it affects considerations of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penology and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rehabilitation_(penology). In ethics, it may hold implications for whether individuals can be held
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_responsibility for their actions. In science,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience_of_free_will may suggest different ways of predicting human behavior.
More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will