The Reality Check Episode 57

Free Will/Determinism + Interview with Evan Bernstein

Free Will

Part 1: 

What is naturalism? What's free will? What's determinism? How do they connect together?

So, naturalism and free will go against each other sometimes. Such as, if you say that everything we do is natural, then there is no free will; because everything we do is because of our limitations and how we are effected by our environments. If we say we want to do something, is it free will? Or is it naturally, under your condition, you will want to do that?

So, if that is true, then how can you hold anyone responsible for anything? 

Naturalism is divided into two philosophical stances: Methodological naturalism and Metaphysical naturalism. 

Methodological naturalism is concerned with knowledge: what are methods for gaining trustworthy knowledge of the natural world? It is an epistemological view that is specifically concerned with practical methods for acquiring knowledge, irrespective of one's metaphysical or religious view. 

Metaphysical naturalism focuses on ontology: This stand is concerned with existence: what does exist and what does not exist? Naturalism is the metaphysical position that "nature is all there is, and all basic truths are truths or nature."

Do we have free will?

But, when we tell people that they don't have free will, but they can still control what they do, people don't really understand how that works.

Free will is the purported ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. Historically, the constraint of dominant concern has been the metaphysical constraint of determinism. The opposing positions within that debate are metaphysical libertarianism, the claim that determinism is false and thus that free exists; and hard determinism, the claim that determinism is true and this that free will doesn't exist. Both of these positions, which agree that causal determination is the relevant factor in the question of free will, are classed as incompatibilists. Those who deny that determinism is relevant are classified as compatibilists and offer various alternative explanations of what constraints are relevant, such as physical constraints, social constraints, or psychological constraints. The principle of free will has religious, ethical, and scientific implications. For example, in the religious realm, free will implies that an omnipotent divinity does not assert its power over individual will and choices. In ethics, it may hold implications regarding whether individuals can be held morally accountable for their actions. The question of free will has been a central issue since the beginning of philosophical thought.

Part 2:

Interview with Evan Bernstein!

Evan Bernstein is the co-host of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe and is the producer and co-host of The Skeptics Guide 5x5 weekly science podcasts. He posts a blog each Monday at The Rogues Gallery, the official blog of the SGU. Evan serves as the Connecticut Chapter Chairman for The New England Skeptical Society. He is also a technical adviser for official NESS investigations, and has been an active participant in the skeptical movement since 1996. Evan's profession is in television production, and he holds a BA in Communications from Central Connecticut State University.

Listen to the interview here: The Reality Check Episode 57

Science Myth of the Week: 

9 months after a blackout or snowstorm or things like that there's a burst of births, is that true? 

It sounds true, because there's not much else to do actually. But it is actually not true, it was disproved already in 1970 by a study.