Tag Archives: determinism

Free Will: I Solved the Problem This Morning!

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Santi Tafarella

Or at least I think I have. And I solved it strictly within the bounds of naturalism (a material and closed system multiverse), without any resort to supernaturalism (ghosts entering machines). And I think I can explain it super concisely. … Continue reading →

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Not So Fast!

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Santi Tafarella

Interesting push-back and complexifying of the “it’s all in your genes” meme: __________ And here’s the full (eccentric) documentary of which the above clip is a part (no, I haven’t watched it yet and don’t know anything about it):

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Do You Think You Have Free Will?

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Santi Tafarella

If you answer yes, watching the below video might give you second thoughts. Serious second thoughts. __________ What I take from this clip is that my intentions and actions are things for which the ground has already been prepared, unconscious … Continue reading →

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Don’t Tread on Me (Epistemically)

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

This falls into the category of Stop the epistemic power-plays! It comes from a recent article in Scientific American written by Shawn Lawrence Otto: The Founding Fathers were science enthusiasts. Thomas Jefferson, a lawyer and scientist, built the primary justification for … Continue reading →

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What Would It Mean To Live For Eternity?

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

When you think about it, all you ever really have is the present, which the poet William Blake called “the moving image of eternity.” You recall the past in present memory and you model and anticipate the future in present … Continue reading →

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Evolution’s Eccentricity: Head Injury Savants And The Right Way To Organize Society

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

Imagine banging your head and suddenly having a talent for piano playing (or oil painting, or doing complex mathematics). It’s a real phenomenon. Here’s an example: __________ To my mind, this suggests that individuals are a lot like birds. Birds … Continue reading →

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Jerry Coyne: Free Will Is Also A Delusion

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

It’s not just God that’s a delusion. Free will is also. And our language should change to reflect it. That, at any rate, is University of Chicago biologist Jerry Coyne’s opinion. Here’s his recommendation, from his blog today, of what … Continue reading →

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Atheism and Free Will: The End of Praise and Shame?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

If you’re an atheist and have concluded that free will doesn’t exist, where does that leave praise and shame? Atheist Jerry Coyne, who does not believe humans have free will, suggests that it leaves praise and shame in the dust: … Continue reading →

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Jerry Coyne Free Will Incoherence Watch: His Confession

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

At atheist Jerry Coyne’s blog, the following statement by Spinoza on free will is quoted with approval: Men are mistaken in thinking themselves free; their opinion is made up of consciousness of their own actions, and ignorance of the causes by … Continue reading →

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Will Computers Ever Really Be Conscious and Intelligent?

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

Philosopher John Searle thinks not. _____ And literary critic Stanley Fish, writing in the New York Times, appears to agree with Searle, offering the following as a key distinction between himself and a computer: [I]ts procedures do not track my practice. I … Continue reading →

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Checkmate: Death and Determinism are the Two Absolute Truths of Atheism

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

It’s sometimes asserted that atheism admits of no ultimate or absolute truths, but in the “D Girl” episode of the Sopranos (Season 2) is a rather nice exchange between Tony Soprano and his therapist, Dr. Jennifer Malfi, that suggests otherwise. The exchange concerns … Continue reading →

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In the Free Will Debate, Does the Truth Matter?

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

According to the New York Times this morning, researchers have discovered a curious correlation between belief (or disbelief) in free will and behavior: [W]hen people doubt free will, they do worse at their jobs and are less honest. This raises … Continue reading →

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Chance v. Conspiracy Theory Watch: Ezra Klein’s Contingency Observations v. Matt Damon’s “The Adjustment Bureau”

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

At the Washington Post’s website, Ezra Klein shares why he can’t bring himself to sit through the conspiracy-themed Matt Damon film, The Adjustment Bureau: I can’t believe in guys in suits with the ability to plan things. And why can’t he believe … Continue reading →

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Blogging Brian Greene’s New Book, “The Hidden Reality”

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

Physicist Brian Greene’s new book just came out, and it’s exceptional. If you want the skinny on what hidden realities there might be behind and beyond our own, you can safely set aside the Bible and just read Brian Greene. And damn he … Continue reading →

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Consciousness Explained: Spatial Awareness, Time Awareness, Self Awareness, Death Awareness, and Free Will

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

Below is an excellent BBC documentary on the self and free will. I especially like what Gordon Gallup says at the 11:48 mark: Death awareness is the price we pay for self awareness. If you only have time for a … Continue reading →

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Novelist David Foster Wallace on Free Will v. Fatalism (Determinism)

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

For those a bit obsessed (as I am) about the implications that underlie the free will v. determinism/fatalism debate, it might be comforting to know that the now deceased author of Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace, was also enamored of the topic. The evidence … Continue reading →

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Free Will Confusion Watch: Gnu Atheist Jerry Coyne Calls Humans Molecular Puppets, Then Endorses Sam Harris’s New Year’s Resolution

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

In a blog post this past summer, evolutionary biologist, Jerry Coyne, didn’t flinch at spelling out the implications of strict naturalism for the idea of free will: We simply don’t like to think that we’re molecular automatons, and so we adopt a … Continue reading →

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Atheism on Trial: Robots v. Fairies?

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Atheists tend to be comfortable with one, and only one, irreducible thing in the universe: matter. Matter just is. It has no explanation outside itself, but it’s here; it is its nature to be here. Did it just jump into existence … Continue reading →

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Atheism and the Quest for Meaning: What Does It Mean to Say That All of Existence is Contingent?

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

It means that life didn’t have to be—it was an accident—and yet here we all are. Our existence is neither inherently necessary or meaningful. Welcome! Now, as human beings, what do we do? Well, we can try to take the incoherence of … Continue reading →

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Free Will Objectivism Fail: Two Mathematicians Demonstrate that Ayn Rand’s Philosophy is Incoherent

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

At ScienceNews.org is a troubling piece reporting that two highly acclaimed Princeton mathematicians, John Conway and Simon Kochen, have mathematically demonstrated the following: if humans can actually choose what to observe (or not observe) in a particular sort of physics experiment involving particle spin, then the … Continue reading →

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