Kevin Mitchell, a genetics and neuroscience professor, challenges the idea that free will is an illusion. He argues that evolution supports our autonomy. The podcast explores the concept of free will, limitations in predicting complex systems, life as a self-organized system, and metacognition in human cognition.
Free will is not an illusion; evolution proves humans have autonomy.
Challenges to free will arise from deterministic brain processes and physics laws.
Deep dives
Defining Free Will
Free will is a complex concept that is often defined in various ways. Some define it as actions free from any prior cause, while others view it as essential for moral responsibility. Neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell argues that free will can be identified through the ability to make choices, control actions, act for reasons, and exercise rational control over behavior, demonstrating a sense of autonomy.
Challenges to Free Will
Various challenges to free will stem from the idea of physicalism, suggesting that our brains' configurations leave no room for genuine autonomy. Arguments range from deterministic brain processes to the role of neural circuits in decision-making. Physicists take a more deterministic stance, attributing human actions solely to the laws of physics, posing significant objections to the concept of free will.
Implications of No Free Will
Contemplating a reality without free will raises significant societal and legal questions. The absence of free will questions the foundation of moral responsibility, potentially disrupting legal systems built on notions of accountability and punishment. The debate extends to reevaluating our systems of justice, shifting focus towards pragmatic decisions rather than moral responsibility.
Human Agency and Free Will
Kevin Mitchell highlights how human cognition, especially metacognition, offers unique abilities for reasoning about reasons and changing goals. This introspective capability sets humans apart, allowing us to ponder and alter our beliefs and desires. Metacognition, combined with the brain's neural machinery, supports a form of agency that grants humans a level of control and autonomy in decision-making and goal-setting.
Did you really choose to listen to this podcast? Or was the decision just the product of neurons firing in your brain, used by biochemical reactions, governed by the laws of physics?
Today, it’s become almost fashionable to chalk how we think and behave up to nothing more than the physical sum of our parts. But our guest in this episode is bucking that trend, arguing that we humans do have autonomy over our lives.
Kevin Mitchell is an associate professor of genetics and neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin and author of Free Agents – How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. He argues that free will isn’t just an illusion, and that evolution proves that we’re more than mere machines simply responding to the world around us.