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 consciousness • intentions, skills, motor control • moral responsibility, causation, mental causation • self-control, grit, self-deception • ethics, law, bioethics, religion, disability, social deprivation

This podcast centers on contemporary philosophical work on free will and human agency, using interviews with researchers in philosophy and related fields to map the main questions and live debates. Across the conversations, listeners are oriented to what it means to be an agent—someone who acts intentionally rather than merely undergoing events—and why agency matters for how we understand ourselves and our lives.

A recurring focus is the connection between free will and moral responsibility: what kinds of control, choice, or “sourcehood” might be required for blame, praise, punishment, or forgiveness to be justified. The show also explores the metaphysics and philosophy of action surrounding agency, including how intentions, planning, skills, and motor control contribute to action, and how causation and mental processes fit into accounts of acting freely.

Several episodes bring in perspectives from cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, and moral psychology to consider how scientific accounts of human behavior intersect with philosophical theories of freedom. Related themes include self-control, self-deception, grit, and the ways social and economic circumstances can shape a person’s agency and opportunities for genuine choice.

The podcast also touches on intersections with philosophy of religion and theology, along with broader questions about meaning in life, disability, and inclusion—using these topics as additional lenses for thinking about what freedom requires and how it is experienced in real human contexts. Overall, the series aims to make specialized scholarship on free will accessible while introducing major positions, motivations, and misconceptions in the field.

Episodes: