Many scientists, including Robert Sapolski, claim that free will is an illusion. All of our decisions are determined by something else. But we must live as if we can make our own decisions and be responsible for our actions. Even hard-core determinists live as if they have free will and can choose to eat a hamburger instead of a pasta carbonara.
Many scientists believe life has no meaning; it is just what it is. They believe that suffering and pain are meaningless. But meaninglessness can make you drown. However, you can choose to believe that life and suffering may have a meaning. This idea can help you keep your nose above the surface.
Maybe you don't have an eternal soul. Maybe God is just a fantasy figure. Maybe there are no spiritual laws stipulating how we shall live. But you can live as if you have a soul, that there are spiritual laws that you must follow, and that there are angels who can help you. These ideas make life easier.
The idea that life is pointless, without spiritual laws, and that the world is nothing but electrons, quarks, and indifferent forces is an absolutely useless philosophy. Modern natural science is harmful to mental health. Its "truths" are poisons. It deduces what life is about from what scientists can see in laboratories and observatories and their mathematical calculations.
In everyday life, no one cares about quarks and electron spin or how big and old the universe is. Such "truths" are utterly irrelevant. Free will, love, conscience, and spiritual laws are essential.
Of course, religious dogmas and doctrines are also poisonous. They also belong to the theoretical dimension of life. The theoretical dimension is not harmful per se, but if it takes over your life, you will find yourself in a cage. We are not living in a theoretical world.
