2024/2025

Free Will, Consciousness, Determinism

Type: Optional course (faculty)

Delivered by: School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies

When: 4 module

Open to: students of all HSE University campuses

Instructors: Louis Vervoort

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The question whether we have a free will has been studied since antiquity, and continues to be a hotly debated topic in contemporary philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and several other disciplines. Almost all famous philosophers have proposed their ideas on free will. Surely, we all have the feeling of being free creatures. But at the same time researchers from different backgrounds tell us that many events and processes – maybe even our thoughts and feelings – are actually determined (by laws of (neuro)biology, psychology, sociology, physics etc.). Therefore: to what extent is free will ‘real’? Could it be an illusion ? In this course we will explore the debate “free will versus determinism” mainly from the point of view of philosophy, but occasionally also from the angle of neuroscience, quantum physics and other disciplines. A part of the course will be dedicated to the theories of well-known “historical” philosophers, but the greater part of the course will be dedicated to present-day thinkers. On the neuroscience side, special attention will be given to the findings of Libet regarding the neuronal activity involved in decision making. The link will be made with probably the most famous debate in physics, namely the Einstein – Bohr debate, on the question: is nature deep down deterministic or probabilistic? Does this have any impact on free will?