Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagJohn Horgan (on free will)

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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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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 ›
Independent Thinking

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
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 ›
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Child playing in ball pit. Colorful toys for kids. Kindergarten or preschool play room. Toddler kid at day care indoor playground. Balls pool for children. Birthday party for active preschooler

At Scientific American: Does Quantum Mechanics Kill Free Will?

Physicists take sides. Sabine Hossenfelder thinks superdeterminism enables quantum mechanics to kill free will; George Ellis disagrees

One of the most interesting science writers of our era is John Horgan, who has managed to infuriate so many of the right people (to infuriate, that is) while giving the rest of us something to ponder. In a recent column in Scientific American he takes on the question of whether quantum mechanics (quantum physics) rules out free will. At first glance, that might seem unlikely. Isn’t quantum mechanics (QM) the ultimate in things you can’t determine in advance? Ah, but some physicists think they have found a way around that: superdeterminism. Sabine Hossenfelder explains that, if we knew enough, we would see that everything is determined anyhow: “The reason we can’t predict the outcome of a quantum measurement,” she Read More ›