Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryFree will

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A Neurosurgeon Makes the Neuroscience Case for Free Will

Michael Egnor is concerned about the serious social implications of denying free will
Insisting that there is no free will amounts to declaring “I’m a meat robot, so take seriously what I’m saying.” That’s self-refuting nonsense, Dr. Egnor says. Read More ›
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A human head with glowing neurons in the brain. Generative AI

The Nature of Mind, Free Will, and Human Uniqueness: A Deep Dive

The book Minding the Brain sparks some interesting discussions about what is really unique about the human mind
Many philosophers have concluded both from experience and careful consideration that mental phenomena cannot be reduced to neural mechanisms. Read More ›
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Mix Media 3D Render - Brain blue fire smoke effect on the black background

Scientists Dare To Hint That the Mind Can’t Just Be the Brain

They start with astonishing facts about the brains of caterpillars and worms and end up discussing human near-death experiences
Whether they continue to push the boundary, or someone else does, they can only bring up so many unaccounted-for facts before it’s time for a revolution. Read More ›
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A red-eared slider rests on a leafy green surface with another red-eared slider on its back.

An Infinite Past Universe Rules Out Free Will. But Here’s a Catch

Such a universe is not logically possible, says Daniel Witt. That’s the “turtles all the way down” problem
“Turtles all the way down” — infinite regress — doesn’t solve the problem that everything, as a whole, is ultimately floating on something beyond itself. Read More ›
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Realistic figure standing at a fork in the road, surrounded by an incredible amount of detail, representing the concept of free will in a realistic setting

A Materialist Neuroscientist Makes a Case for Free Will, Cont’d

When Mitchell tries to construct a naturalistic model of will, he is drifting away from the common experience of will that motivated the whole discussion
Despite its limitations, I would recommend Mitchell’s book as a “gateway” drug for anyone who is stuck in a reductionist-materialist paradigm. Read More ›
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living room interior view and open door, Generated AI

A Materialist Neuroscientist Makes a Case for Free Will

Kevin Mitchell makes a good case though his book is not equally persuasive on every point
Mitchell points out that “there is nothing in the laws of physics that rules out the possibility of agency or free will, a priori.” Read More ›
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Ability.

Consciousness: Reductionism’s Final Hill — the One To Die On?

The reductionist has no more information than anyone else about the origin of human consciousness and isn’t making any better sense of the evidence we do have
Is science about following the evidence or about confirming a materialist ideology about science? This is the big neuroscience question of our century. Read More ›
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man standing in front of various paths, needing to make a decision to move forward in life. Generative Ai.

Does Brain Surgery Prove That Free Will Isn’t Real?

My fellow neurosurgeon Theodore Schwartz is mistaken in thinking that free will is an illusion. It is quite real
I offer four reasons that we can know that free will is real, drawn from human behavior, law, ethics, and physics. Read More ›
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Smiling man is choosing a bottle of beer from the shelf, shopping for alcohol in a supermarket

Science Writer Wonders If There Can Be Evidence for Free Will

Horgan thinks that “proofs” of free will seem as dubious as denials but there is actually considerable neuroscience evidence
As we’ve noted earlier, neuroscience has never disproven free will, much as some neuroscientists may have wanted it to. Read More ›
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Hyper-realistic figure standing at a forked road, with incredible detail in the environment, representing free will in a realistic scene

Free Will: A Materialist Thinks It Might Somehow Be Real

Psychiatrist Ralph Lewis thinks that Darwinian evolution can explain human consciousness but now hesitates to debunk free will

Earlier this year, University of Toronto psychiatrist Ralph Lewis wrote a two-part series at Psychology Today titled “The Strongest Neuroscience Arguments in the Free Will Debate” (here and here). He looked at Mitchell (yes) and Sapolsky (no), both of whom published serious books on the topic in 2023. And he concluded, For now, for practical purposes, given our current level of incomplete understanding of the complexities of the brain’s decision-making processes, and our inability to predict human behaviors in most situations, we might as well regard ourselves as having free will—or rather, degrees of freedom. We do know that our brain has highly evolved systems for self-control—even for those of us who struggle with this relatively more than others, and Read More ›

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Alien hand syndrome. Mature man trying to control his hand.

Alien Hand Syndrome? Relax. There Is No Alien Mind

The syndrome has been used to argue for the idea that split brain patients really have two separate minds and maybe wills afterward
Split minds doesn't make sense as a concept. To simultaneously pursue two abstract thought processes or moral choices is not a meaningful idea. Read More ›
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box of chocolates

Neurology Prof Robert Sapolsky Insists There Is No Free Will

We are controlled by our genes, by our prefrontal cortexes, and we can’t choose to change anything. Or can we?
In his view, no whole human being decides not to do something wrong or harmful. Only the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which has no opinion, does so… Read More ›
what will you choose? Fresh healthy berries come out from the bowl or junk potato fries from paper box

Michael Egnor: The Neuroscience Evidence for Free Will

You ask a hundred neuroscientists about Libet's work and 95% will say he disproved free will, when he did exactly the opposite
Egnor talks about the demand for materialist conformity: “If I were a basic scientist and I relied on grants to live, I'd be toast.” Read More ›
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3d white room with opened door. Brick wall

Trying To Refute Free Will Without Being Sure What It Is…

Stephen Barr offers some thoughts on neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky’s Determined, which argues against free will
Human reason could not be open abstract truths, physicist Barr notes, if it were under the complete control of physical factors, as Sapolsky believes. Read More ›
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Decision making and choosing between two paths with different outcomes. Generative AI

Can Free Will and Predestination Both Be True?

Seemingly contradictory arguments can sometimes be resolved from a higher level perspective. Quantum mechanics vs. classical physics provides an illustration
The conflict between free will and predestination disappears when considering the perspective of the almighty “I Am” vs. our human perspective. Read More ›
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man standing in front of various paths, needing to make a decision to move forward in life. Generative Ai.

Philosopher: Why Brain Science Does Not Eliminate Free Will

Tim Bayne looks at what we can logically deduce from the famous Libet experiments
The logical argument for free will coincides with recent neuroscience research findings. Read More ›
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A choice of two ways. Woman at a crossroads.

Free Will: Never Let Mere Atoms Near a Keyboard

No free will — and therefore no responsibility — may sound more “cool” than free will but we had better be careful about what we admire
If there is no free will, you can’t say “I didn’t do it” if sociologically, you have a higher probability of doing it than someone else might. Read More ›
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man standing in front of various paths, needing to make a decision to move forward in life. Generative Ai.

At Scientific American, free will seems very much alive

The concept is incompatible with their “mind is just the brain” thesis but they can’t let go of it anyway
The debate will surely continue but it’s remarkable that it’s even HELD at Scientific American. Wasn’t materialism supposed to have disproved free will by now? Read More ›
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fork in the road in forest at storm weather at night, concept of insecurity of future

My Reply to Free Will Deniers: Show Me

It is helpful to consider the question in this way—not “do we have free will?,” but rather “what does it mean to believe we don’t have free will?”
No humans live as if we doubt free will. Free will denial is just a way for materialists to advertise themselves, like a political yard sign. Read More ›
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Choosing the High Road or Low Road

How Neuroscience Disproved Free Will and Then Proved It Again

In this excerpt from Minding the Brain (2023), neuroscientist Cristi L. S. Cooper discusses the discovery of “free won’t” — the decision NOT to do something
Neuroscientist Benjamin Libet was skeptical of claims that he had disproved free will, so he continued to experiment and found that he hadn’t after all. Read More ›