Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagDetermined (Penguin 2023)

Choosing the High Road or Low Road
Type
post
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 20, 2025
Categorized
Free will, Science
Tagged
, , , ,

Arguments Against Free Will Viewed as Junk Science?

“No free will” used to be taken for granted as “what science says” but incisive critiques are beginning to pop up
Denyse O'Leary
June 20, 2025
5
Free will, Science
Perhaps the fact that Sapolsky opposes free will somehow makes his viewpoint more "scientific" in the eyes of many than the viewpoint of someone who, with equally good arguments, supports it. Read More ›
a-red-eared-slider-rests-on-a-leafy-green-surface-with-anoth-843881686-stockpack-adobe_stock
A red-eared slider rests on a leafy green surface with another red-eared slider on its back.
Type
post
News
Date
March 16, 2025
Categorized
Free will, Physics
Tagged
, , , ,

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
News
March 16, 2025
15
Free will, Physics
“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 ›
box-of-chocolates-stockpack-adobe-stock
box of chocolates
Type
post
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 8, 2024
Categorized
Free will
Tagged
, ,

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?
Denyse O'Leary
September 8, 2024
5
Free will
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 ›
3d-white-room-with-opened-door-brick-wall-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d white room with opened door. Brick wall
Type
post
News
Date
August 15, 2024
Categorized
Free will, Neuroscience, Physics
Tagged
,

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
News
August 15, 2024
5
Free will, Neuroscience, Physics
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 ›
a-choice-of-two-ways-woman-at-a-crossroads-stockpack-adobe-stock
A choice of two ways. Woman at a crossroads.
Type
post
Denyse O'Leary
Date
May 30, 2024
Categorized
Crime, Free will
Tagged
, , , , ,

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
Denyse O'Leary
May 30, 2024
5
Crime, Free will
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 ›
Independent Thinking
Type
post
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 15, 2023
Categorized
Free will, Philosophy of Mind, Psychology
Tagged
, , , , , , ,

The Free Will Debate Really Heated Up This Year

Many commentators are weighing in; surprisingly, perhaps, well-known materialists are disputing the claim that there is no free will
Denyse O'Leary
November 15, 2023
5
Free will, Philosophy of Mind, Psychology
Given that both Pinker and Horgan are Darwinian materialists, their coldness toward the idea that there is no free will is worth keeping an eye on. Read More ›
a-hand-drops-a-ballot-into-a-transparent-plastic-ballot-box-on-election-day-at-a-polling-station-the-will-of-the-voters-free-elections-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
a hand drops a ballot into a transparent plastic ballot box on election day at a polling station. the will of the voters. free elections. Generative AI
Type
post
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 5, 2023
Categorized
Evolution, Free will
Tagged
, , , , , ,

Can Evolution Create Free Will? A Neurologist Says Yes

Could the impersonal natural force of evolution shape hierarchies in the human cerebral cortex so that we have the free will that it does not itself have?
Denyse O'Leary
November 5, 2023
6
Evolution, Free will
It appears that materialists have not been able to simply disprove free will, so Mitchell seems to be trying to shape an evolution theory to fit it. Read More ›