
The Free Will Show
Do any of us really have free will? What does it mean to have free will, anyway? Is free will compatible with determinism? Hasn’t science disproved free will? How could we have free will if God exists and foreknows everything that we will ever do? The Free Will Show provides a beginner-friendly introduction to the topic of free will while at the same time exposing listeners to cutting-edge developments on the topic. Hosted by a couple of philosophers, Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer, The Free Will Show features interviews with guests on a diverse array of issues relating to free will, including issues in science and theology. thefreewillshow.com
Latest episodes

Jan 25, 2021 • 54min
Episode 12: Libertarianism, Part 2 (Agent-Causal) with Timothy O'Connor
This episode is the second of a three-part series on varieties of libertarianism. In this episode, we talk with Timothy O'Connor about agent causal libertarianism.Tim's website: https://philosophy.indiana.edu/people/oconnor.shtmlTim's book: Persons and Causes: The Metaphysics of Free Will: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/persons-and-causes-9780195153743?cc=ca&lang=en&Tim’s interviews on Closer to Truth: https://www.closertotruth.com/contributor/timothy-oconnor/profile Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Free Will”: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Emergent Properties”: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/properties-emergent/ If you have a question you’d like us to answer in our Q&A episode, get in touch with us at thefreewillshow@gmail.com, via the show’s website: thefreewillshow.com, or through social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefreewillshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreewillshow/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Free-Will-Show-105535031200408/

Jan 11, 2021 • 51min
Episode 11: Libertarianism, Part 1 (Event-Causal) with Christopher Franklin
This season begins with a three-part series on varieties of libertarianism. In this episode, we talk with Chris Franklin about his version of event-causal libertarianism.Chris's website:https://christopherefranklin.weebly.com/Chris's book: A Minimal Libertarianism:https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-minimal-libertarianism-9780190682781?cc=us&lang=en&#Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Free Will”: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/If you have a question you’d like us to answer in our Q&A episode, get in touch with us at thefreewillshow@gmail.com, via the show’s website: thefreewillshow.com, or through social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefreewillshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreewillshow/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Free-Will-Show-105535031200408/

Dec 6, 2020 • 2min
The Free Will Show Season 2 Trailer
Cohosts Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer describe Season 2 of The Free Will Show.Taylor’s website: taylorwcyr.comMatt’s website: matthewflummer.weebly.com/If you have a question you’d like us to answer in our Q&A episode, get in touch with us at thefreewillshow@gmail.com, via the show’s website: thefreewillshow.com, or through social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefreewillshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreewillshow/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Free-Will-Show-105535031200408/

Nov 23, 2020 • 34min
Episode 10: Q&A
Cohosts Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer answer listener questions about the issues and ideas brought up in Season 1 of The Free Will Show.We discussed Neil Levy's book Hard Luck in this episode: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/hard-luck-9780199601387?cc=ca&lang=en&If you have a question you’d like us to answer in a future Q&A episode, get in touch with us at thefreewillshow@gmail.com, via the show’s website: thefreewillshow.com, or through social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefreewillshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreewillshow/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Free-Will-Show-105535031200408/

Nov 9, 2020 • 41min
Episode 9: Moral Luck with Dana Kay Nelkin
In this episode, Dana Kay Nelkin explains the problem of moral luck, which raises a challenge for all theories of freedom and responsibility. After giving several examples of moral luck, Dana explains some types of response to this challenge.Dana’s website:http://www.danakaynelkin.com/Dana’s article on Moral Luck in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-luck/Thomas Nagel's famous paper on moral luck:https://www.jstor.org/stable/4106826?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contentsThe Man in the High Castle is on Amazon Prime (Not Netflix!)https://www.amazon.com/Man-High-Castle-Season/dp/B00RSGFRY8If you have a question you’d like us to answer in our Q&A episode, get in touch with us at thefreewillshow@gmail.com, via the show’s website: thefreewillshow.com, or through social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefreewillshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreewillshow/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Free-Will-Show-105535031200408/

Oct 26, 2020 • 51min
Episode 8: The Manipulation Argument with Derk Pereboom
In this episode, Derk Pereboom explains the manipulation argument—an argument that aims at showing that determinism and free will are incompatible. After walking us through his widely discussed “Four-Case Argument,” Derk summarizes Alfred Mele’s “Zygote Argument” and responds to a variety of objections to manipulation arguments.Derk’s website:http://derk-pereboom.net/Derk’s Books:Free Will, Agency, and Meaning in Life: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/free-will-agency-and-meaning-in-life-9780198776864?cc=ca&lang=en&#Four Views on Free Will: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Four+Views+on+Free+Will-p-9781405134866Others mentioned in the episode:Mele’s Zygote Argument can be found in chapter 7 of Free Will and Luck: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/free-will-and-luck-9780195374391?cc=us&lang=en&McKenna’s Hard-Line Reply: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1933-1592.2008.00179.x

Oct 12, 2020 • 43min
Episode 7: Frankfurt Cases with Carolina Sartorio
In this episode, Carolina Sartorio explains “Frankfurt cases”—cases that call into question the intuitive idea, sometimes called the principle of alternative possibilities (“PAP” for short), according to which moral responsibility requires alternative possibilities. After talking through one type of objection to Frankfurt cases, Carolina discusses the significance of Frankfurt cases, which she argues extends beyond their role as alleged counterexamples to PAP.Carolina’s Website: http://sartorio.arizona.edu/Carolina’s Book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/causation-and-free-will-9780198746799?cc=ca&lang=en&Frankfurt’s Paper: https://philpapers.org/rec/FRAAPA-8Mele and Robb’s Paper: https://philpapers.org/rec/MELRFCIf you have a question you’d like us to answer in our Q&A episode, get in touch with us at thefreewillshow@gmail.com, via the show’s website: thefreewillshow.com, or through social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefreewillshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreewillshow/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Free-Will-Show-105535031200408/

Sep 28, 2020 • 38min
Episode 6: The Problem of Luck with Alfred Mele
Alfred Mele discusses the problem of luck for libertarianism and various perspectives on free will. He explores different types of libertarian views, such as event causal and agent causation, and discusses the distinction between them. Mele proposes a solution to the problem of luck that incorporates its existence without negating free decisions, addressing antecedent probabilities and the first free choice.

Sep 14, 2020 • 33min
Episode 5: The Consequence Argument with Peter van Inwagen
Philosopher Peter van Inwagen explains the consequence argument for incompatibilism and discusses the problem of freedom and determinism. He explores different versions of the consequence argument, challenges the fixity of laws of nature, and explores the complexities of free will and attributing blame. The podcast also touches on the mind argument, the problem of luck, and references Harry Frankfurt's cases.

Aug 31, 2020 • 45min
Episode 4: Divine Foreknowledge with Linda Zagzebski
In this episode, Linda Zagzebski explains the argument from God’s infallible foreknowledge to the conclusion that no one has free will. After discussing several responses to the argument, she then explains why this problem is interesting—whether one is a theist or not.Linda’s website: https://www.ou.edu/cas/philosophy/people/faculty/linda-zagzebskiRecommended resources:Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Foreknowledge and Free Will”: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/free-will-foreknowledge/Linda's first book, The Dilemma of Freedom and Foreknowledge: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-dilemma-of-freedom-and-foreknowledge-9780195107630?cc=us&lang=en&#If you have a question you’d like us to answer in our Q&A episode, get in touch with us at thefreewillshow@gmail.com, via the show’s website: thefreewillshow.com, or through social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefreewillshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreewillshow/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Free-Will-Show-105535031200408/