Tullius est [et Tullius non est Cicero]: Does Science Disprove Free Will?

Unlike my ancient predecessor, this Tullius hasn't had his hands chopped off. With hands attached I offer my thoughts on philosophy, religion, politics, and whatever else I find worth mentioning. I'm conservative religiously and politically (with libertarian leanings). I value reason and freedom but also traditions and "Oldthink." I relish being on the wrong side of history when history is wrong--part of a philosopher's job is to be unpopular. (Views given here may not represent my employers')

Monday, October 27, 2014

Does Science Disprove Free Will?

According to this author the answer is a resounding "NO." I just finished Alfred Mele's most recent book on the issue. It's written for a popular audience and is very clear & well written. For $10-15 the book is probably overpriced given that it consists in a mere 95 pages. But it's a fun a little read if you want to quickly get up to speed on some of the recent scientific work which has been alleged to debunk freedom of the will. Daniel Dennett gives it his endorsement--for what it's worth, which probably ain't much.

2 comments:

JSOctober 27, 2014 at 10:48 PM
I didn't read the review by Dennett that you posted, but didn't Dennett also say some things that suggested Mele's work might be tainted because he was funded by the EVIL Templeton Foundation (Seriously though, God bless the Templeton Foundation).
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UnknownOctober 28, 2014 at 4:49 PM
Dennett said some things which might have been taken to suggest that Mele's work might be tainted. But Dennett accepted his arguments. Dennett then got blasted for saying things which are irrelevant to the quality of Mele's arguments, and Dennett responded (lamely) to this charge and explained that Mele's character and not arguments are in question. Mele responds here:
http://dailynous.com/2014/10/21/mele-replies-to-dennett-on-templeton-funding/
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