Free Will: Does It Exist?
Summary
Host Wendy Zuckerman explores whether free will is an illusion, featuring neuroscientist Meryl Horne and physicist Sean Carroll. They examine experiments showing brain activity precedes conscious decisions, suggesting choices may be predetermined. However, Carroll argues free will is an emergent property, like weather, existing at a higher level than individual atoms. The episode concludes that while science challenges traditional views, the experience of choice remains real and meaningful.
Topics discussed
Introduction: Free will memes and the central question
Sponsors: Adobe Firefly and Accenture
Defining free will and the psychological impact of denying it
Determinism, physics, and the clockwork universe
Benjamin Libet's 1980s experiment on brain activity
John-Dylan Haynes' fMRI study predicting choices 7 seconds early
Critiques of the experiments and the definition of 'self'
Sponsors: LinkedIn, Viore, McDonald's, and Starbucks
Sean Carroll on emergence: Free will as a higher-level phenomenon
Conclusion: Reconciling science with the experience of choice
Outro, credits, and other podcast recommendations
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