What is the definition of a will?

Answer 1

Noun1.

a. The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action: championed freedom of will against a doctrine of predetermination.

b. The act of exercising the will.

2.

a. Diligent purposefulness; determination: an athlete with the will to win.

b. Self-control; self-discipline: lacked the will to overcome the addiction.

3. A desire, purpose, or determination, especially of one in authority: It is the sovereign's will that the prisoner be spared.

4. Deliberate intention or wish: Let it be known that I took this course of action against my will.

5. Free discretion; inclination or pleasure: wandered about, guided only by will.

6. Bearing or attitude toward others; disposition: full of good will.

7.

a. A legal declaration of how a person wishes his or her possessions to be disposed of after death.

b. A legally executed document containing this declaration.

Verb

willed, will·ing, wills.

Transitive Verb

1. To decide on; choose.

2. To yearn for; desire: "She makes you will your own destruction" (George Bernard Shaw).

3. To decree, dictate, or order.

4. To resolve with a forceful will; determine.

5. To induce or try to induce by sheer force of will: We willed the sun to come out.

6. To grant in a legal will; bequeath.

Intransitive Verb

1. To exercise the will.

2. To make a choice; choose.

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Answer 2

Noun

will (plural wills)

1. (archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.) [from 9th c.]He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
2. One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention. [from 9th c.]Of course, man's will is often regulated by his reason.
3. One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands. [from 9th c.]Eventually I submitted to my parents' will.
4. (archaic) That which is desired; one's wish. [from 10th c.]  [quotations ▼]
5. The act of choosing to do something; a person's conscious intent or volition. [from 10th c.]Most creatures have a will to live.
6. A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes. [from 14th c.]

Answer 3

Broadly, the human will is the faculty of the human mind by which we decide or conceive of ourselves as deciding upon and initiating action.

From our current scientific understanding of the human brain and its environment the human mind may be defined as the process of a trained living human brain interacting with the rest of the human body, which is interacting with its physical, social and cultural environment. From our instincts and these interactions we develop prototypes in our brains which we deploy in reaching decisions and initiating action. These prototypes are continually being shaped and reshaped by our interactions with the environment and other prototypes in our mind.

For convenience, these prototypes may be grouped under several meta-prototypes which reflect the basic needs of human beings. These meta-prototypes comprise the Will to Integration, the Will to Meaning, the Will to Power, the Will to Love, the Will to Excel, the Will to Animalism, the Will to Sensualism, the Will to Exist and the Will to Dependence. They may be remembered by the mnemonic IMPLEASED.

Accordingly, the human will may be regarded as being many-sided and dynamic.

References:

Douglas, Graham 1986-2007 The Revolution of Minds!, http:/www.integrative-thinking.com