Free Will is one of those subjects that occassionally come up in conversation and make you think about wether or not that which you think is 'free will' actually is free will. Ever since I started discussing with people online, it's come up several times and I found people have a different opinion on what free will actually is. Thinking about it, I came up with an 2 premiss definition. 

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Free Will consists of the "freedom of thought" and the "freedom to act on these thoughts". 

 

If either of these two freedoms is infringed, then your will can not be free. When one of these is infringed, that doesn't mean you don't have any will at all, it means it is "limited" at best. What could these limitations be? Any prospect of undesirable consequences. Only when there are no 'unavoidable undesirable consequences' can your will be free. 

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This notion has been a topic for debate, where people, regardless of the consequences, feel their will still is free. A simple example however shows this is incorrect. Let's say you have the freedom to think about stealing. Do you have the freedom to act on this thought? Directly yes, indirectly no. And this is where you have limited will. When you are caught stealing there will be an unavoidable undesirable consequence. You might not want to undergo this consequence, but you have to. Your freedom to act on the thought to not undergo the consequence is infringed. Thus... You do not have free will, but infringed will. The prospect of punishment works as a detterent to stop you from acting on the thought to steal and you change your mind. 

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This doesn't just apply to a court of law. Basically it applies to any situation in which you deal with another person or any entity that can impose their will on you. Yes, you seem to have the free will to poke a wild bear. If the bear decides to maul you, how free is your will to not suffer the consequences? Since the prospect of being torn apart acts as an deterrent and it will change your mind, you don't really have the free will to poke a bear.