The Nathan Jacobs Podcast Has Science Disproved Free Will? | A Conversation With James Joiner
Jan 8, 2026
Dr. James Joiner, a philosopher specializing in consciousness and free will, delves into the heated debate on whether science disproves free will. He critiques popular determinist narratives and dissects studies like Libet's to expose their methodological flaws. Joiner argues for the persistence of libertarian freedom against reductionism and discusses how belief in free will impacts moral behavior. By exploring historical roots and contrasting types of freedom, both he and Dr. Jacobs highlight the importance of aligning our will with truth and virtue.
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No Room Argument Misses The Target
- Robert Sapolsky’s "no room" argument attacks an inflated, causeless notion of freedom that libertarians don’t hold.
- Libertarians accept influences but deny that influence suffices to eliminate genuine agent causation.
Reductionism Hides Emergent Causation
- Sapolsky presumes reductive materialism and omits conscious states from causation accounting.
- Higher-level properties (like liquidity in water) show emergence that undermines strict causal reduction.
Level-Shifting Undercuts Determinism
- Allowing indeterminacy at quantum levels yet asserting biological determinism is inconsistent.
- If indeterminism can emerge upward, determinism could equally fail to emerge at higher conscious levels.
