Free Will: Why Sam Harris needs to read more Philosophy
In his book ‘Free Will’ (2012) Sam Harris offers up the conclusion that “free will is an illusion”. I can’t say that I’m surprised given the fact that many neuroscientists have offered up similar...
View ArticleNeuroscience and Free Will: New study debunks Libet’s interpretation
The interconnection of neuroscience and free will has many researchers trying to make bold claims about their findings. In my last post I called Sam Harris’ conclusion that “free will is an illusion”...
View ArticleConcussions and Informed Consent
My soon to be 10 year old step-son wants to play football. I guess this should not come as a surprise. He has watched me get entertained by the sport for as long as he can remember. I taught him how to...
View ArticleWhat Can Philosophers Of Mind Learn From Being in Love?
An underlying project for many philosophers of mind is to form general theories about the nature of consciousness and mental states. One general theory of consciousness identifies mental states with...
View ArticleThe Importance of Free Will
For those who think that a belief in free will is not that important I refer you to this excellent piece by Rebbeca Roach. I further some of the issues raised by Roach and will be posting on it soon,...
View ArticleRomantic Dysfunction, BPD, and Moral Responsibility
It is commonly argued that for one to be morally responsible, one must have control over one’s actions (see here for a run-down on arguments for that claim). Now, one does not generally concede that a...
View ArticleSam Harris Still Needs to Read More Philosophy
In a scathing review of Sam Harris’ pamphlet Free Will , Daniel Dennett rightfully calls out Harris for some obvious missteps that Harris has taken (once again). Harris responds here. Though I am more...
View ArticleA Free Will Resource via Al Mele
Al Mele, one of the most distinguished and recognizable philosophers writing on free will has launched a new blog where he plans to field questions and generate discussion a few times a week (see the...
View ArticleHey, Neuroscience, Why Can’t We Be Friends? Objections to Substance Dualism...
For many who’ve taken philosophy courses at the university level (let alone those who teach philosophy), substance dualism appears to be a theory with, dare I say it, no substance. It’s not a “live...
View ArticleBarack Obama Is Not My Father: A Simple Argument Against Physicalism
The following is a rather simple (simplistic?) argument against certain forms of physicalism*, specifically, those forms which identify the conscious mind with physical processes of the brain. The...
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