Dr. Julien Musolino is a cognitive scientist and author of The Soul Fallacy. He explains why the intuitively, commonly-held notion of free will – known as “libertarian” or “contra-causal” – is scientifically incoherent. This has some implications for how we view ourselves and how we treat others, but on many levels it also doesn’t matter. Julien restores the concept of free will by providing a different definition of free will at a higher level of abstraction. Along the way, Julien and Leslie delve into ideas from philosophy, morality, politics, and sociology.
Publications referenced in the conversation:
- For the law, neuroscience changes nothing and everything, by Joshua Greene
- Moral Responsibility Reconsidered, by Gregg D. Caruso
- Free is as real as baseball, by Sean Carroll
CFIC also hosted a talk three years ago by author Gregg D. Caruso, on his book Rejecting Retributivism: Free Will, Punishment, and Criminal Justice. You can watch the video here.
Podcast for Inquiry is hosted by Leslie Rosenblood and brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada. Support Podcast for Inquiry on Patreon: https://patreon.com/PodcastforInquiry. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@centreforinquiry.ca.