The Illusion of Free Will

Wow.
Well this is interesting.
This is a lecture by Sam Harris, explaining his theory that free will does not exist, and to be honest it does make a lot of sense. I have always been a believer that people are the way they are for a reason, whether it be nature or nurture, the truth of the matter is, you do not chose who you become and Harris articulates this perfectly. However he takes it a step further saying "you do not chose what you chose" - this implies thinking of what you were going to chose before you actually thought it. (He explains it a hell of a lot better than that, I promise). 
Take a generic psychopath; there is scientific evidence to suggest that the neurological mechanisms in a psychopaths brain are different to that of a "normal" - not normal...stable - person. They did not chose that. Plus all the nurture variables, such as childhood and traumatic life events; people do not chose that either. And you can put it into perspective by looking at it like this; you did not chose your parents, just like Bin Laden's children did not chose theirs (the poor bastards). 
And I personally prefer this way of thinking. It promotes a more empathetic view and in many ways humanises people. 

Any ways, here is the lecture. Watch it if you're interested. It's only 1.20hrs long.