Read the given passage and answer the six questions that follow.

Free will is the ability to decide and act free from any influence of past events or environment. It implies complete freedom to make any choice absolutely. We clearly don't have free will. Our decisions and actions are never divorced from our past.

We have a conditioned mind. Our memories, past impressions and experiences bias and shape our thoughts and actions in the present. It is our karmic imprint. Not just what we are born with, but also what we accumulate while living. We can consider it as the result of our genetic code, upbringing and environment. It's our backstory.

The only way to experience free will is to get rid of all such conditioning; to neutralise our karmic imprint; to be independent of our psychological coding. That's possible only if we can purify our mind by letting go of all our ego, attachments and fixed beliefs. Then we can reside in the truth of our being.

The above is an exacting definition of free will. What we commonly mean by free will is that we have a choice in most situations like, who you choose to marry, what profession you pursue or how you react to someone's aggression. Sounds reasonable. But here's the catch. Our ability to make that choice too is significantly restricted, dictated by our predispositions.

This applies even to our ability to bring about change within ourselves. Despite a strong resolve to be calmer, kinder or less anxious, our ability to manifest that change depends, partly on our emotional and mental wiring. That's why some people succeed in such efforts more than the others.

If you wish to expand the scope of your agency, explore ways to engage in sustained inner work, deepen your self-awareness, examine and reform your conditioned beliefs. But then, I wonder if your inclination to embark on that journey too depends on your current karmic coding.

The author argues that humans don't have "free will" because __________.

Fill in the blank with the correct option to complete the sentence.

our decisions are shaped by past events and environmental influences.

The correct answer is Option (1) - our decisions are shaped by past events and environmental influences.

Explanation:

• The passage discusses how our memories, past impressions, and experiences shape our thoughts and actions in the present, indicating that our decisions are influenced by past events.
• It emphasizes that our karmic imprint, which includes our genetic code, upbringing, and environment, biases and shapes our choices.
• Therefore, the completion "our decisions are shaped by past events and environmental influences" aligns with the author's argument presented in the passage.