Category Archives: free will

Gregg Caruso on free will, the justice system, prisons, the meaning of life, and the good life

September 1, 2020 – 12:45 pm

The New Philosopher has a long interview, “On Purpose,” with Zan Boag speaking to the philosopher Gregg D. Caruso, Professor of Philosophy at SUNY Corning, Honorary Professor of Philosophy at Macquarie University, and Co-Director of the Justice Without Retribution Network (JWRN) at the University of Aberdeen School of Law. Although I’ve never met Caruso, I […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in interview, philosophy | Comments (85)

George Ellis responds to my criticism of his argument for free will

June 15, 2020 – 9:30 am

Yesterday I posted a critique of an Aeon article by physicist George Ellis, arguing that science itself gives evidence for true libertarian free will. This rests on his claim that psychology exerts a “top-down” effect on molecules, and those top-down effects, because they stem from our thinking, our experiences, and our personalities (all subsumed under […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in physics, woo | Comments (46)

Another paper claiming (but failing) to give evidence for libertarian free will

June 14, 2020 – 9:00 am

UPDATE: Reader Coel pointed out in the comments—this had escaped my notice—that the author of this piece, George Ellis, won the Templeton prize in 2004 for efforts in harmonizing science and religion. This may be relevant to the article below. Part of his citation says this: Beyond ethics, Ellis contends that there are many areas […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in philosophy, physics | Comments (101)

Sapolsky interview redux (and SpaceX launch/docking)

May 31, 2020 – 7:30 am

Most of the issues plaguing this website were resolved by WordPress yesterday, but the site was inaccessible for much of the day. I thus invite you to comment on yesterday’s post about Robert Sapolsky’s Scientific American interview on free will. Comments were few for this kind of post; the paucity is either due to reader […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in interview | Comments (29)

Robert Sapolsky on (the lack of) free will and its consequences

May 30, 2020 – 1:30 pm

Here’s a 43-minute Scientific American podcast in which Stanford biology professor, author, and atheist Robert Sapolsky is interviewed by Robert Mirsky. Many of us have read Sapolsky’s recent book Behave: The Biology of Humans at our Best and Worst, and Mirsky centers the talk on one of Sapolsky’s chapters from that book on behavior and […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in law, philosophy | Comments (29)

Another ludicrous “Thought of the Day” from the BBC: The Bishop of Manchester assures us that we have libertarian free will

May 14, 2020 – 9:00 am

I’ve long known that BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a religious homily every day at a bit before 8 a.m. I’ve heard it many times, and grumble loudly at each homily. Yesterday, reader Neil called my attention to a particularly galling homily given yesterday by the Right Reverend Dr. David Walker, the Bishop of Manchester. It […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in determinism, osculating the rump of faith, osculation of faith, radio | Comments (69)

Sean Carroll on the shows “Westworld” and “Devs”: free will, simulations, and multiverses

May 10, 2020 – 9:45 am

In the May 4 New York Times, culture reporter Reggie Ugwu interviewed Sean Carroll about the recent television series “Westworld” (HBO) and “Devs” (FX on Hulu). Sean watched both shows and gives his reactions, then discusses the premises of the shows.  Since I’ve seen only two episodes of one show (“Westworld”), and none of the […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in physics, television | Comments (143)

A very short story on (the absence of) free will

April 26, 2020 – 9:45 am

This story was published in Nature some years ago and called to my attention by reader David. The author is the well known science fiction writer Ted Chiang, and though the story is 15 years old, it’s not only still relevant but, like the best sci-fi, makes you think hard. The story was published two […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in science fiction, stories | Comments (73)

A new BBC video on free will

March 23, 2020 – 11:30 am

The BBC has just begun a video series on free will, and, thanks to reader Tom C., I got a link to part 1 of 3. The BBC’s notes are these: There are many forces behind our everyday decisions. In a three part series we look at the hidden powers behind the choices we make. […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in neuroscience | Comments (12)

Panpsychism: a big bag of nothing

February 21, 2020 – 9:00 am

I was suckered by the Courtier’s Reply of panpsychists like Philip Goff, and so have finished his popular (i.e., trade) book, Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness. I am not going to summarize it or review it at length, as it says little beyond what I’ve summarized previously. It has not convinced […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in panpsychism, philosophy, woo | Comments (59)