The undeniable fact is that brains provide the material means by which conscious life is sustained. Without brains there can be no human consciousness. But it does not follow from this that we can explain all human behavior in neurological terms alone and that conscious thoughts contribute nothing to our actions. That is a much stronger claim, which goes against the evidence of experience.
ReadGUARDIAN BOOKS PODCAST. Talking about Freedom Regained in a programme that also includes Joanna Biggs. Listen/download here.
ReadOn Thursday the nation decides. Each one of us will be free to choose how or whether to vote. But if you’ve been paying any attention at all to the findings of modern psychology, you might doubt whether your vote is truly free at all. There is a mass of compelling evidence that all our choices, including our electoral ones, are strongly affected by myriad unconscious and often irrational factors…
ReadTalking to Tom Edwards and Andrew Tuck about Freedom Regained in the Monocle Weekly podcast.
ReadTHE BIG QUESTIONS – BBC ONE. I was on this morning’s programme talking about free will.
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