Independent researcher

This paper delves into the long-standing problem of free will, employing the framework of Attention Agency Theory (AAT) – an emerging theoretical structure aimed at unifying the constitutive nature and dynamics of reality, including consciousness. AAT proposes that the fundamental constituents of the universe are "Universal Agencies" (UAs), possessing intrinsic "Universal Attention" mechanisms (a basic tendency for selection and guidance) and a fundamental goal of tending towards "Stability/Order". The hierarchical structure of reality is composed of "Agents" formed through the self-organization of UAs, pursuing dynamic stability. In complex agents, such as humans, subjective experience (qualia) emerges as a highly efficient "Attention Copy" mechanism, serving a crucial functional role; its "what-it's-like" character directly serves the evaluation of states and guidance of behavior. This paper argues that AAT offers a novel perspective transcending the traditional divisions between determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism. Within this framework, free will is reinterpreted as an emergent capability of complex agents: guided by intrinsic stability goals (manifested as dynamic attractors), utilizing multi-level attention mechanisms (expressed as resource tilting), harnessing the inherent fluctuations of underlying systems (achieving guided randomness), navigating their possibility space, making adaptive choices based on functional subjective experience (attention copies/qualia), and even dynamically adjusting their own stability goals (attractors). This paper elaborates on the selection mechanisms, the causal role of consciousness, the sources of freedom (including guided randomness, hierarchical control, and goal plasticity) within the AAT framework, and discusses its potential implications for understanding moral responsibility, psychopathology, and artificial intelligence.