TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: Free Will Matters

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17 episodes
2020 to 2021
Median: 13 minutes
Collection: Philosophy

Description (podcaster-provided):

The problem of free will has been at the center of many discussions in western philosophy for the last 20 centuries. But in recent years the problem has reappeared in a fresh form. There are new and exciting developments in the field that make this a fascinating topic of conversation. For this podcast we have invited various philosophers who work in free will. Philosophy might be a daunting thing, but with their help we will get to know better the what, the how and the why of free will. Welcome.

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

➤ Free will debates • human agency and control • moral responsibility • action, intentions, consciousness • causation and mental processes • ethics, law, theology • psychology/neuroscience perspectives • disability, social influences

This podcast centers on contemporary philosophical and interdisciplinary debates about free will and human agency. Through conversations with academic specialists, it explores what it means to be an agent—someone who can act, form intentions, exercise control, and be responsible—and why these notions matter for how we understand ourselves and our social practices. The discussions draw on core areas in the philosophy of action and metaphysics, including questions about causation, dispositions, practical reason, omissions, and the structure of intention and planning, as well as how individual agency might scale up to shared or institutional forms of agency.

A recurring focus is the relationship between freedom and moral responsibility: what kinds of control or “sourcehood” are required for praise, blame, and accountability, and how different theories of free will handle challenges such as manipulation, self-deception, or limits on self-control. The podcast also connects philosophical work on agency to neighboring fields, including cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, moral psychology, law, and bioethics, reflecting interest in how scientific accounts of human behavior and consciousness interact with traditional philosophical theories.

In addition, the show engages themes at the intersection of agency and lived human circumstances, such as the effects of economic and social deprivation on a person’s ability to shape their life, and the implications of disability for inclusive communities and for understanding autonomy, virtue, and responsibility. Throughout, the emphasis is on clarifying concepts, addressing common misconceptions about agency, and mapping current research directions in free will studies.

Episodes: