Free Will in Philosophy and Neuroscience 

This interdisciplinary course is designed to give a tour of the brain in its capacity as the ‘organ of decision-making’ and its implications for how we think about free will. This course focuses on the ways in which recent neuroscientific research can be brought to bear on philosophical debates surrounding free will. On the philosophy side, we will delve into the classic theories on these matters, from well-known philosophers. Surely, we all have the feeling of being free creatures. But at the same time, researchers from different backgrounds tell us that many events and processes – maybe even our thoughts and feelings – are actually determined (by laws of (neuro)biology, psychology, sociology, physics, etc.).

Therefore: to what extent is free will ‘real’? Could it be an illusion? A majority of ‘great names’ in philosophy have addressed these questions, and we will study the main points of view. The link will be made with perhaps the most famous debate in physics, namely the Einstein – Bohr debate, on the question: is nature deep down deterministic or probabilistic?

Has this debate had a bearing on humans’ free will? In this course, we will explore these questions from the point of view of philosophy and neuroscience. The course emphasizes helping students to make connections between the scientific principles that they learn in the class and their social experience.