Free will explored. Laurie Taylor talks to Julian Baggini about his latest work which considers the concept of freedom. He argues against the idea that free will is an illusion due to a combination of genes, environment and personal history. Instead he posits a sliding scale of freedom which allows for the possibility of individual agency and responsibility.
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The idea that unconscious biological forces drive our beliefs and actions would seem to pose a real threat to our free will. We like to think that we make choices on the basis of our own conscious deliberations. But isn’t all that thinking things over irrelevant if our final decision was already written in our genetic code? And doesn’t the whole edifice of personal responsibility collapse if we accept that “my genes made me do it”?
ReadWhen people claim that “mindfulness works”, they can mean different things. There are claims that it promotes psychological flexibility, awareness, resilience, better decision-making, job performance, reduced absence rates and the ability to learn new tasks. No wonder businesses are interested.
ReadNo matter how much I am committed to my views, I am even more committed to the idea that they should be able to stand up to rational scrutiny. This commitment means nothing if I actively avoid serious challenge and only seek out confirming viewpoints.
ReadWe do not need to choose between altruism and egotism because living the good life benefits ourselves and others.
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