Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
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Does it exist? Or is it an illusion? Why not read on and decide for yourself. As if you had any choice...
Lecture given by philosopher Daniel Dennett at Tufts University in which he discusses the debate over free will
Panel discussion at the Centre for Inquiry explores what the cognitive sciences can say about free will, moral responsibility
Sam Harris proposes that our concept of free will is just an illusion generated by our brains
A debate is raging between philosophers and scientists over nature of free will. Neuroscientists say they can prove it is an illusion. But philosophers aren't buying this. Here's a detailed account of the latest developments
Popular newspaper column resolves argument that has engaged philosophers for centuries. Well, not quite, but it's a nice punchy statement of the main ideas from a serious thinker. And a good read. As if you had a choice
Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne recently argued that free will does not exist. And that science can prove this. Well, now it's time for a philosopher to fight back. And put the case for why Coyne's arguments don't stack up
Fascinating assessment of ethics and our notion of free will. Thought-provoking on why we "need not have any illusions about a casual agent living within the human mind to condemn such a mind as unethical, negligent, or even evil"
Cosmologist takes on subject of free will. Interesting discussion of compatibilist position that suggests "free will as an emergent phenomenon can be perfectly compatible with an underlying materialist view of the world"
"If we don’t have free will, this is presumably not a recent development. If we haven’t got the genuine article, then we have no point of reference for what it would subjectively be like (if anything) to have it."
Does determinism pose a threat to free will? Possibly but it's overstated. What matters is whether we have "a sense of our conscious selves being in control of what we do. And that can depend on how our behaviour is described"
