The Free Will Show

In this episode, Tim Bayne explains a famous experiment by brain scientist Benjamin Libet— an experiment that Libet took to show that we have no free will. We discuss several critical responses to Libet, and Tim argues that, even if unsuccessful in his original aims, Libet has raised good questions for philosophers, physiologists, and neuroscientists to explore. Tim's website: https://www.mmc...

This episode is the first in a new season on free will and science. Over the course of the season, we’ll have episodes covering topics in neuroscience, psychology, and physics. To kick things off with a general introduction to free will and science, we are joined by Robyn Repko Waller.  Robyn's website: https://sites.google.com/site/robynrepkowaller/home Robyn's John Templeton Foundation...

Cohosts Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer answer listener questions about the issues and ideas brought up in Season 2 of The Free Will Show. Asimov, Bicentennial Man https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0182789/ Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Measure of a Man https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708807/ Kevin Timpe, Free Will: Sourcehood and its Alternatives https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/free-will-9780826496256/...

In this episode, we talk with Seth Shabo about mysterianism, the view that we have free will, but it is a mystery how it is that we have it. While not a mysterian himself, Seth explains the attractions of the view and addresses some common objections, and we end by asking Seth about his own views on free will and moral responsibility. Seth's website: https://philpapers.org/s/Seth%20Shabo Seth...

In this episode, we talk with Manuel Vargas about revisionism, a family of views according to which our ordinary conception of free will needs to be revised. Manuel's website: http://vargasphilosophy.com/ Manuel's book, Building Better Beings : https://global.oup.com/academic/product/building-better-beings-9780199697540?cc=ca&lang=en& P. F. Strawson’s classic paper, “Freedom and...

In this episode, we talk with Michael McKenna about semicompatibilism (or, perhaps better, source compatibilism). We discuss two versions of the view: “mesh” theories (including Harry Frankfurt’s hierarchical model) and reasons-responsiveness theories. Michael's website: https://msmckenna.com/ Michael's book, Conversation and Responsibility : https://global.oup.com/academic/product/conve...

In this episode, we interview Kadri Vihvelin about a recent development of the classical compatibilist position—a development that has come to be known as "dispositional compatibilism." Along the way we discuss time travel, abilities, dispositions, and much more. Kadri's website: http://vihvelin.com/ Kadri's book, Causes, Laws, and Free Will: Why Determinism Doesn't Matter...

In this episode, we ask Helen Beebee about a range of compatibilist positions, beginning with the “classical compatibilism” of Hobbes/Hume and then turning to the conditional analysis of ability,  David Lewis’s “local miracle compatibilism,” and, finally,  “Humean compatibilism.” Helen's website: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/Helen. Beebee.html Helen’s book, Free Will: An Intro...

In this episode we talk with Gregg Caruso about free will skepticism, the view that we lack the freedom (or control) required for moral responsibility in the basic desert sense. Gregg's website: http://www.greggcaruso.com/ Gregg's forthcoming book: https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/law/criminal-law/rejecting-retributivism-free-will-punishment-and-criminal-justice?format=HB G...

This is the third of a three-part series on varieties of libertarianism. In this episode, we talk with David Palmer about non-causal libertarianism. David's website: https://philosophy.utk.edu/staff/palmer.php David's forthcoming article defending noncausal free will: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11229-020-02701-4 David's book Libertarian Free Will: Contemporary Deba...

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.shtml Tim's book: Persons and Causes: The Metaphysics of Free Will : https://global.oup.com/academic/product/persons-and-causes-9780195153743?cc=ca&lang=en&...

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 Encyclop...

Cohosts Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer describe Season 2 of The Free Will Show. Taylor’s website : taylorwcyr.com Matt’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/thefreewillshow Instag...

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 thefreewillsho...

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/mor...

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, A...

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 arg...

In this episode, Alfred Mele explains the problem of luck for libertarianism (the view that we have free will and that free will is incompatible with determinism). Along the way, we discuss different types of libertarian views of free will, as well as Al’s own proposed solution to the problem of luck on behalf of libertarians.  Al’s Website: http://myweb.fsu.edu/amele/almele.html Al’s book on this...

In this episode, Peter van Inwagen explains the consequence argument for incompatibilism. Afterwards, he discusses what he takes to be the problem of freedom and determinism. Peter’s Website: https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/emeritus/peter-van-inwagen/ A collection of Peter’s written work: https://andrewmbailey.com/pvi/ Papers referenced in the episode: "Are We Free to Break the Laws?" b...

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-zagzebski Recommended resources: Stanford Encyclopedia of...

In this episode, Alicia Finch explains an intriguing argument for logical fatalism—the view that the laws of logic preclude out having free will—as well as four types of response to the argument. Alicia’s website: https://www.aliciafinch.com/ Recommended resources: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , “Fatalism”: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/fatalism/ If you have a question you’d like us to...

Cohosts Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer describe Season 1 of The Free Will Show. Taylor’s website : taylorwcyr.com Matt’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/thefreewillshow Instag...

In this episode, John Martin Fischer explains three potential threats to our having free will in the sense of having the freedom to do otherwise than what we actually do: the threats from logical fatalism, divine foreknowledge, and causal determinism. John ends by giving a teaser for an alternative conception of free will. John Martin Fischer’s website: https://alaw003.wixsite.com/johnmartinfische...

In this episode, cohosts Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer present an introduction to the philosophy of free will, including a discussion of differing conceptions of free will, how free will is related to moral responsibility, and why it matters if we have free will. Recommended resources: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , “Free Will”: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/ The study by psycho...

In this episode, cohosts Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer introduce themselves and this podcast. Along the way they discuss what the discipline of philosophy is and why they’re making this podcast. Taylor’s website: taylorwcyr.com Matt’s website: matthewflummer.weebly.com/ Also, Matt forgot to mention the name of his college: Porterville College If you have a question you’d like us to answer in our Q&a...