Tag Archives: free will

Imagination, Desire, And Action Through Chemistry: My Theory Of Free Will

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Santi Tafarella

In terms of free will, I don’t think we have contra-causal free will (free will that actually interferes with and pushes around determinate matter). I think our brains are modular, governed by often contending impulses, and that sometimes–or even characteristically … Continue reading →

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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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Why Are There No Molecule/Water Dualists?

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Santi Tafarella

The question. I had a question pop into my head yesterday morning: Why are there no molecule/water dualists in the same way that there are brain/mind dualists? The obvious answer: Because there is nothing at stake religiously. We all presume … 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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Free Will and the Origin of Consciousness

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Santi Tafarella

Am I missing something here? If contra-causal free will does not exist–and most non-dualist philosophers and scientists insist that it doesn’t, then how did consciousness ever evolve? It’s logically possible that we could all be zombies–though we’re not–without the least … Continue reading →

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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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Quantum Dieting: Change Your Measurements, Change Your Life

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

An article in Seed surveys some recent research on quantum physics’s implications for common sense reality. Here’s the problem: [N]one of us perceives the world as it exists fundamentally. We do not observe the tiniest bits of matter, nor the forces … 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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“Multiverse of the Gaps” vs. “God of the Gaps”

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Santi Tafarella

Have you noticed? Contemporary theists and atheists, in their debates with one another, tend to invoke gap arguments that mirror each other. For the theist, God-of-the-gaps arguments are designed to introduce mind into an explanation; for the atheist, multiverse-of-the-gaps arguments … 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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The Old In and Outputs: Neuroscientist Tom Chivers Doesn’t Think We Have Free Will. Is He Right?

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

A stunning tidbit from an interview, in The Telegraph, with neuroscientist Tom Chivers: [I]f we are part of the universe, and obey its laws, it’s hard to see where free will comes into it. What we think of as freedom, … 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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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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