volition
Power to decide
Volition is the exercise of will—the capacity to choose or decide.
It appears most often in the phrase of one's own volition, meaning by one's own choice rather than external pressure: She left of her own volition.
The word carries a formal tone and emphasizes that an action was deliberate and freely chosen.
Firmness of purpose
- resolveFirmness of purpose
- self-controlAbility to restrain impulses
- disciplineTrained self-control or specialty
- tenacityPersistent grip or resolve
perseverance · grit · fortitude · steadfastness · drive · backbone · restraint · self-discipline
Autonomous decision-making capacity
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- libertarianismMinimal-government political philosophy
- agencyPower to act
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
intentionality · phenomenology · voluntarism · deliberation · Schopenhauer · willing
Self-directed action capacity
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- empowermentGaining authority or confidence
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- self-directionControlling one's own choices
self-governance · free-will · self-regulation · control · command · sovereignty · independence · self-rule
Reason something exists
design · plan · motivation · premeditation · forethought · deliberateness · purposefulness · goal-setting
Settled course of action
- selectionChosen item or items
- preferenceFavored choice among alternatives
- optionAvailable course of action
- alternativeAnother available choice
discretion · deliberation · judgment · election · picking · opting · choosing · preferring
Absence of unjust constraint
- free-willAutonomous decision-making capacity
- liberationRelease from constraint
- unconstrainedHaving no restrictions
- unforcedNot made to happen
spontaneity · latitude · leeway · uncompelled · unfettered · unrestricted · emancipation · noninterference
determination
Firmness of purpose
- resolveFirmness of purpose
- self-controlAbility to restrain impulses
- disciplineTrained self-control or specialty
tenacity · perseverance · grit · fortitude · steadfastness · drive · backbone · restraint · self-discipline · conviction
free-will
Autonomous decision-making capacity
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- libertarianismMinimal-government political philosophy
- agencyPower to act
consciousness · intentionality · phenomenology · voluntarism · deliberation · Schopenhauer · willing
initiative
Self-directed action capacity
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- empowermentGaining authority or confidence
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
self-direction · self-governance · free-will · self-regulation · control · command · sovereignty · independence · self-rule · self-reliance
purpose
Reason something exists
intent · design · plan · motivation · premeditation · forethought · deliberateness · purposefulness · goal-setting · aspiration
decision
Settled course of action
- selectionChosen item or items
- preferenceFavored choice among alternatives
- optionAvailable course of action
alternative · discretion · deliberation · judgment · election · picking · opting · choosing · preferring · electing
liberty
Absence of unjust constraint
- free-willAutonomous decision-making capacity
- liberationRelease from constraint
- unconstrainedHaving no restrictions
unforced · spontaneity · latitude · leeway · uncompelled · unfettered · unrestricted · emancipation · noninterference · permissiveness
- cognitionthinking, reasoning, thought, cognition, remembering
- freedomfreedom of choice, freedom of will, free will, expression, speech
- desireswant, wish, desire, wanting, yearning
- human conceptsconsciousness, awareness, identity, self, emotion
- mental statesknowledge, conscious, mood, anxious, memory
- choiceschoice, choose, decide, decision, select
volitioncompulsion
Irresistible urge to act
coercion · force · duress · constraint · fate
volitionunwillingness
Disinclination to act
reluctance · involuntariness · passivity · apathy · indifference