Kant argues that when you make a choice you must act “under the idea of freedom”…The point is not that you must believe that you are free, but that you must choose as if you were free. It is important to see that this is quite consistent with believing yourself to be fully determined.
Korsgaard, Christine. “Morality as Freedom.” In Creating the Kingdom of Ends, Cambridge, 1996.
Act with the presupposition of being free
throughout all of the day’s emotion.
At no time should you let yourself only be
determined. Let your body know causality
in all things and still exhibit a wiser notion:
act with the presupposition of being free.
Let the human condition be a duality.
Though don’t forget Newton’s laws of motion,
at no time should you let yourself only be.
Let your good work not be bound in slavery
whether its engines be on land or ocean.
Act with the presupposition of being free.
Even should wheels of desire grind incessantly,
give Laplace’s demon no exclusive portion.
At no time should you let yourself only be,
so always then driven by love and study,
whether in form called to human or divine devotion,
act with the presupposition of being free.
At no time should you let yourself only be.