The Physicist Who Proved Free Will Using Thermodynamics
Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal
Intro
This chapter explores free will through the perspectives of thermodynamics and physics, highlighting the unpredictability of reality. It also delves into philosophical inquiries about consciousness, time, and the significance of personal choices in shaping our lives.
As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe Physicist and philosopher Jenann Ismael joins to unveil a radical idea: free will isn’t an illusion, it’s a physical reality grounded in thermodynamics and relativity. In this conversation, Jenann explains why no system, not even a perfect computer, can predict its own future, and how this inherent unpredictability opens the door to real agency. We explore the paradox of identity, the limits of determinism, the role of memory in selfhood, and why your choices truly come from you. This is the clearest, most rigorous defense of free will in the age of physics. Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:42 Free Will 29:16 The Limits of Predictability 41:45 Defining Free Will 59:42 Life and Cognition in the Universe 1:05:30 The Choices We Make 1:08:01 Dark Nights of the Soul 1:09:35 Philosophical Responses to Free Will 1:11:03 Personal Reflections on Life 1:11:54 The Weight of Loss 1:13:40 Patterns of Persistence 1:17:17 Understanding the Self 1:18:41 The Continuity of Existence 1:20:17 The Nature of Mortality 1:22:27 Time and Its Mysteries 1:51:42 The Nature of Existence 2:04:23 The Paradox of Newcomb's Dilemma 2:08:38 Lessons Learned from Suffering Links Mentioned: • How Physics Makes Us Free [Book]: https://amzn.to/44CcHr8 • Why Physics Should Care About The Mind [Paper]: https://www.jenanni.com/wp-content/uploads/Why-physics-should-care-about-the-mind-and-how-to-think-about-it-without-worrying-about-the-mind-body-problem.pdf • Diana Pasulka [TOE]: https://youtu.be/E5MuTHUbMUs • Leonard Susskind [TOE]: https://youtu.be/2p_Hlm6aCok • Sean Carroll [TOE]: https://youtu.be/9AoRxtYZrZo • Matt Segall [TOE]: https://youtu.be/DeTm4fSXpbM • Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss • David Lewis’s Metaphysics: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lewis-metaphysics/#Bib • Robert Sapolsky [TOE]: https://youtu.be/z0IqA1hYKY8 • David Lewis’s Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000APAW62 • Stephen Wolfram [TOE]: https://youtu.be/0YRlQQw0d-4 • Roy Baumeister [TOE]: https://youtu.be/aXoK-C2c2AQ • Free Will Ontoprism [TOE]: https://youtu.be/SSbUCEleJhg • Michael Levin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/c8iFtaltX-s • Dark Night Of The Soul: https://basilica.ca/documents/2016/10/St.%20John%20of%20the%20Cross-Dark%20night%20of%20the%20soul.pdf • George Musser [TOE]: https://youtu.be/KVy3NeXpMaI • Tim Maudlin & Tim Palmer [TOE]: https://youtu.be/883R3JlZHXE SUPPORT: - Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join - Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs #science
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