On Free Will and Self-Esteem: The Philosopher’s Lament People with low self-esteem generally feel like “I’m not good enough.” And philosophy would ask: Why? What does that mean? Good enough according to whose judgment? Judged by what standards? For what reason? For what purpose? And according to what foundational premises? And, I think, (and I speak from personal experience), the premise is a faulty understanding, a misunderstanding, of the nature of free will. But the truth about free will is, in a way, very, very sad, so people don’t want to face the truth. But this short essay states that truth. And this truth, in a way, holds a great deal of wisdom. It is not, ultimately, within my control whether my philosophy has any effect upon the world, or how long it lasts. The readers control that. I do not have any control over that. You should write for fun, not for effect. If the readers reject you, that does not mean you “failed.” It isn’t necessarily true that always “doing more” ...