Does a schizophrenic choose his attitude? Neuroscience definitely points to specific wiring in our brains that certainly influences the way we respond to a given situation. We’ve long accepted that some of us are predisposed to depression. That’s not a choice, but definitely a strong influence. How I see the world and how you see it are probably not the same. Why? What influences our perception of life’s circumstances? Something other than free will as near as I can tell. Fortunately, we now have modern medicine that can change the chemistry in a person’s brain so that they experience less depression. I’m glad you can choose to be happy but I’m not convinced everyone can.