#19 - Michael Huemer: free will, political anarchism and morality

Michael Huemer is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder and the author of Ethical Intuitionism, The Problem of Political Authority, and more six books. He is known for his clarity, rigor, and no-nonsense philosophical reasoning and is in my opinion one of the best philosophers alive, follow Mike on Twitter

We talk about the logic of free will, the illusion of the self, moral responsibility, philosophical anarchism, and how rationality might still matter in a deterministic universe. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.

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Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

03:22 – Is the bias for determinism just another historical mistake?

06:44 – Deliberation presupposes freedom

10:06 – On truth, imperfection, and rational discourse

13:28 – Is Huemer’s argument for free will a deductive proof?

16:50 – Robots, compatibilism, and why freedom needs alternatives

20:12 – You didn’t create yourself — but can you still be free?

23:34 – The no-self doctrine and what it really means

26:56 – Unconscious influence and degrees of freedom

30:18 – Who gave the government the right to rule?

33:41 – Philosophical vs political anarchism

37:03 – Why most people misunderstand both government and anarchy

40:25 – Defunding the police, private courts, and anarchist reform

43:47 – Why civil disobedience is rare (and should happen more)

47:09 – Can we have progress without chaos?

50:31 – Moral progress and the abolition of slavery

53:53 – What’s changing now and what’s next

57:15 – Why being rational might be a moral obligation

1:00:37 – One philosophical idea everyone should understand