{"id":12512,"date":"2019-12-11T22:40:06","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T22:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/?p=12512"},"modified":"2019-12-18T21:00:40","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T21:00:40","slug":"2019-12-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanists.org\/blog\/2019-12-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Against the Wind: What\u2019s the Deal with Free Will?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Abramson<\/strong><\/h3>\n

11 a.m., December 15, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do we really have a Free Will? If we do, in what sense our choice is \u201cfree\u201d? If we don’t and our Free Will is just an illusion, why is this illusion so important to us, and what is behind it? Do we need a Free Will to make moral choices?<\/p>\n

These questions were debated for centuries, but now we can try to draw insights from psychology, neuroscience, computer science, and other disciplines. Do we know enough to develop a “model” of Free Will consistent with our subjective experience and moral intuition? What can we learn from it?<\/p>\n

Finally, even if our Free Will served us well in the past, can it still be a reliable guidance in the Silicon Age?<\/p>\n

Let’s try to find the answers together.<\/p>\n

Michael Abramson is a physicist specializing in system modeling and simulations, and a concerned citizen leading a \u201cPositive Agenda\u201d group who is involved with a number of activist organizations.<\/p>\n

———-<\/p>\n

After the Forum, please join us for a lunch at 12:30pm. The lunch is complimentary for first-time visitors and students.
\n