The Philosopher's Arms Free Will
Aug 16, 2013
Peter Mabbutt, hypnotherapist who demonstrates hypnosis to explore control. Gemma Calvert, neuroscientist and neuromarketing director, on subconscious influences and brain imaging. Wayne Martin, philosopher specializing in free will and moral responsibility, on historical and conceptual frameworks. They discuss trance, brain predictors of choice, legal responsibility, willpower, and how relationships shape self-governance.
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Pub Regular's Tumour Changed His Behaviour
- A regular behaved violently after developing a brain tumour and later recovered when surgeons removed it.
- The pub audience initially split on punishment versus clemency, using the tumour story to question whether the disease or the man was responsible.
Free Will Emerged As A Theological Fix
- Wayne Martin traces modern free will to Augustine, who invented it to reconcile an omnipotent good God with the existence of evil.
- Augustine's free will lets humans, not God, be blamed for moral wrongdoing, making free will a theological solution.
Free Will Shapes Our Practices Of Blame
- Philosophical positions split between compatibilists who allow free will under determinism and incompatibilists who call free will a myth.
- The dispute ties directly into practices of praise, blame and punishment in society.