Is There a Unicorn?

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Shermer: I think we do make volitional choices based on along the lines of what just argued. There's some something, physical system is nudging you. But even those impulses, shermer, that you just had, those are determined by thoughts that came before. They just bubble up from underneath, in your limbic system or something. We have all the constraints of physical reality. Our free will is limited. It's not infinite. And as we get more mature, and learn more about the world, like this, it enhances our ability to have degrees of freedom. dan dennet: You know, i'm a compatiblist. Yes, i largely agree with you

Why do you exist? How did atoms and molecules transform into sentient creatures that experience longing, regret, compassion, and even marvel at their own existence? What does it truly mean to have a mind―to think? Science has offered few answers to these existential questions until now.

Michael Shermer speaks with computational neuroscientist, Ogi Ogas, about his unified account of the mind that explains how consciousness, language, self-awareness, and civilization arose incrementally out of chaos, and how leading cities and nation-states are developing “superminds,” and perhaps planting the seeds for even higher forms of consciousness.