Are individual human beings responsible for their own actions?

Somewhere between 1 and 2.

I agree most with number 1, however, many people create the conditions for behaviour that is hurtful, destructive or criminal in their day-to-day lives without even realizing it. Also, one cannot usually create anything material without being destructive to something else (there are some exceptions to this). Also, in some circumstances, criminal behaviour could be necessary, where there is corruption or unjust law.

Every single action I make during a given day is of my choosing. I can choose not to go to work, or to get drunk before I go driving, but I don't because the benefit is outweighed by the consequences. Even people who are put in extreme situations still choose their own actions, even if it is more understandable than the actions of a person in a normal situation.

I am on the side of number 1, you choose your actions and are responsible for them. This being said, there are certain situations when an action you choose might be okay, when it is normally not.

I voted 3, but it depends on the context in which we define free will. If we define free will as the ability to make uninfluenced choices as an individual person, then it is a facade of control; I make choices based on who I am, but I am a product of my environment, so then my choices are as well.

But this logic must also hold true in every situation, for if there is one instance of free will, then it exists. But, one instance of free will does not disprove all determinism.

The term free will is used in conjunction with 3 dimensional individual organisms. But, reality consists of much more than what we may perceive through our senses; we see only 2 dimensions, with an illusion of the third. We see cause and effect as we perceive it, but the other aspects of reality that are imperceivable may not follow our logic; I will discuss this more after you reply.

"Anonymous Poll Creator
6 months, 1 week ago | pl
@: Captain_Kegstand
Everything that has ever happened to you in your life, those are the reasons. Your personality is like a computer. The data that is entered into that computer is every experience and thought you have ever had."

Here you seem to be insinuating that either personal identity consists of only experience and thought, or that there is a third entity (the computer) holding the data together. My following argument would depend on which possibility you are implying...please clarify.

Could be either 1, 2 or 3 depending on the scenario. If I had to lean on one of the answers, I'd say around 2.5. I always presume 2 unless there's obvious evidence suggesting it's 1 or 3.

Think of this:

People often express the sentiment that Adolf Hitler was among the most "evil" human beings in history because of the massive death toll that occurred during his regime. However, it is a fact that Hitler did not personally execute or otherwise cause the deaths of many, if indeed any of the people killed under his regime during the "Holocaust". Those people were killed by soldiers, or during the course of forced labor in concentration camps overseen by soldiers.

If individuals are responsible for their own actions, then the statement "Hitler killed millions of people while he was in power" would be logically incorrect, as those people were, in fact, killed by soldiers. Hitler, then, would be no more evil than anyone else who espouses his philosophies, which are legion.

Whether or not "evil" is even a valid concept is another subject.

4. Neither humans nor animals have free will and the only reason we even have a concept of free will is because deterministically we had no other choice but to have a concept of free will.

Ironic, isn't it? :D

i dont understand how someone ie a hirer of a hitman gets more jail time than the actual murderer, i wonder if this is what u mean