Whether free will is compatible with the scientific worldview, according to which the world is just driven by blind deterministic causes is a fascinating question about which I will have little to say. This is because my brief is to talk about what neuroscience can tell us about free will and despite contrary claims, I don’t think that modern neuroscience has very important things to say on this question. We will quickly explore why this is but more importantly we will look at a different question about free will where neuroscience has been rightly enormously influential. Research in neuroscience (but also social psychology) has sparked a fascinating debate about whether we have enough conscious control over our actions to be free. The bulk of the talk will explore this so called zombie challenge and discuss a couple of interesting potential moves one could make in reply to it.
About the speaker
Dr Tillmann Vierkant is a Professor of Neurophilosophy of Agency and Free Will at the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences (PPLS) at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests are centered around questions on the nature of mental actions. His monograph on related issues The Tinkering Mind has appeared in October 2022 with Oxford University Press. He has also worked extensively on topics relating to free will and voluntary action in an interdisciplinary context and was part of a multi million dollar project on the Neuro Philosophy of Free Will (see more here ). He has written also on willpower and the extended mind, implicit bias, self-knowledge, mind reading and connections between language evolution and voluntary action. He has also been involved in X phi exploring folk intuitions on freedom and responsibility and has edited two volumes on the cognitive science challenge to free will, most notably “Decomposing the Will” (OUP).
Attendance is free. No ticket is required. We operate on a first come first served basis. It's relatively rare that we fill up the function room, but please be aware that if things are looking busy, the earlier you get there the less chance there is of not getting in.
Although the event is free, we will be asking for donations at the end of the talk. Participants are under no obligation whatsoever to donate, however please rest assured that the money we collect doesn't end up in anyone's pocket - it is used to fund our overhead costs, and travel/accommodation for our speakers who come from further afield.
Accessibility: The Admiral Woods Bar now has a functioning lift which can take wheelchair users (or others who are unable to manage stairs) down to the function room. There is also a disabled toilet in the function room area.
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