Christian List/ Kristina Musholt
Tuesday 4 December 2012, 6.30 – 8pm
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Christian List, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, LSE
Chair: Kristina Musholt, LSE Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and Deputy Director of the Forum for European Philosophy
Modern science, especially the idea that everything in the universe is physically determined, is often thought to challenge the notion that we, humans, have free will and are capable of autonomously choosing our own actions. Free will is said to be an illusion or an idea that results from wishful thinking. Yet, free will is at the heart of our self-conception as rational agents and of the view that we can be held responsible for our actions. If free will is an indeed an illusion, this could have radical implications for morality and the law. What can be said in response to these concerns? The aim of this lecture was to sketch an argument to the effect that there is room for free will in a world governed by the laws of physics, even in a deterministic world. Free will, it was argued, is an emergent phenomenon that is associated with the organisational complexity of any intentional agent.
