Skepticism and Free Will

Free will has been something of a hot topic recently, so I thought I’d put together a number of skeptical and libertarian discussions about choice, neuroscience, and related issues.

• Stefan Molyneux, a popular atheist Internet philosopher, is a staunch proponent of free will, and I respond to his argument in “‘Free Will’ Is a Free Lunch.”
• Michael Shermer‘s books, in particular The Believing Brain, have much to say on the topic of how we form beliefs and put them into practice. The general pattern: ”Beliefs come first, explanations for beliefs follow.”
• Matt Ridley, in a review of The Believing Brain, concurred, saying of human beliefs, “Maybe we’re all conspiracy theorists.”
• Philosopher Dan Dennett has made brilliant contributions to our scientific and philosophical understanding of consciousness, evolution, and psychology, and he wrote an entire book on the problems of moral and political freedom called Freedom Evolves.
• Neuroscientist Sam Harris has a new book coming out next month called, appropriately, Free Will.

• Author Zack Lynch on How Neuroscience Will Change the World

• “You Are Your Brain”: David Eagleman on Transforming Criminal Justice

• Three Ingredients for Murder: Neuroscientist James Fallon on psychopaths and libertarians

• Steven Pinker on Free Will

• Tom Clark – Skepticism and Free Will | For Good Reason podcast

• Daniel Dennett – Free Will, Determinism, and EvolutionSpeaking at the Skeptics Society lecture series at CalTech.




• Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our own decisions?
  http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

• BBC Horizon – The Secret You

• Sam Harris on the Illusion of Free Will – 1/3 (an excerpt from The Moral Landscape)
  “Am I ‘free’ to change my mind? Of course not. It can only change me.”

• Sam Harris answers readers’ questions on free will.“You have said free will is an illusion, but that choices, intentions, and efforts still matter.”