Neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell explores the concept of free will, arguing that it is part of our evolutionary heritage. He challenges determinism and discusses the two-stage model of free will. Mitchell also explores the behavior of bacteria and the concept of emergence. Overall, he argues that free will is not an illusion and is a result of evolution.
Evolutionary biologist Kevin Mitchell challenges the deterministic notion of the universe, arguing that even simple organisms possess agency and make choices based on stimuli and past events.
The role of noise and variability in neural circuits supports choice and free will, highlighting the importance of top-down organization and causal influence over low-level details.
Mitchell emphasizes the significance of understanding the brain from a systems perspective, where organization and functionality go beyond individual components, in order to comprehend how the brain enables free will.
Deep dives
Evolution of Agency, Purpose, and Meaning
The podcast episode explores the idea that the evolution of life is the evolution of agency, purpose, and meaning. It discusses how even the simplest organisms make choices in an effort to survive and how this supports the concept of free will.
Challenges to Free Will
The episode addresses common challenges to the existence of free will, such as biological fatalism, neural reductionism, and determinism. It highlights the importance of underdetermination by bottom-up causes and the role of indeterminacy in the brain.
The Role of Noise and Patterns
The podcast explores the role of noise and variability in neural circuits and how it supports choice and free will. It emphasizes that the low-level details in the brain don't matter as much as the higher-level meaning of patterns, allowing for top-down organization and causal influence.
The Two-Stage Model of Free Will
The episode introduces the two-stage model of free will, originally proposed by William James. It explains how ideas occur to organisms and the subsequent process of selecting among those ideas. It also discusses the balancing of randomness and creativity in decision-making.
Evolutionary Perspective on Free Will
Evolutionary biologist Kevin Mitchell argues that agency and the ability to make choices are integral to the evolution of life. He counters the mainstream argument against free will and emphasizes that even simple organisms make choices based on the stimulus and past events. Mitchell challenges the deterministic notion of the universe and highlights the significance of quantum mechanics in allowing for genuine agency and choice. He also sheds light on how humans possess metacognition, the ability to think about thinking, which sets us apart and enables us to analyze and evaluate our past choices.
The Role of Causal Capacitors in Free Will
Throughout evolution, living organisms have developed causal power and knowledge through natural selection, genetic inheritance, and individual learning. Mitchell likens organisms to causal capacitors, accumulating causal potential through their interventions in the world and the acquired knowledge of the environment. In contrast to reductions and emergentism, Mitchell argues for a non-reductive systems view of the brain, where causal effectiveness is derived from the meanings and functionality of cognitive elements. He emphasizes that organization and functionality go beyond the sum of individual components, and understanding this systems perspective is crucial in comprehending how the brain enables free will.
In the this episode of Brain Science we talk with neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell about his new book Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. While many neuroscientists and philosophers argue that free will is an illusion, Mitchell argues that the ability to make meaningful choices is part of our evolutionary heritage. He also addresses the important issue of determinism, siding with those physicists who argue that the fundamental nature of our universe is NOT deterministic. These issues are crucial to how we see ourselves and others.
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