Summary: <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Neurons and genetics cannot explain away<br> the existence of free will, according to Julian Baggini.<br> <br> <br> <br> ---<br> <br> <br> <br> When philosopher Julian Baggini – author of<br> more than a dozen books, including Atheism:<br> A Very Short Introduction and Freedom<br> Regained: The Possibility of Free Will –<br> hears someone talking about free will, they’re usually talking about why<br> humans don’t have it. This doesn’t sit well with him.<br> <br> <br> “They think it’s the view of intelligent<br> informed opinion, that there’s some sense in which science has shown that we definitely<br> don’t have free will,” he says. “So it’s ceased being a matter of philosophical<br> speculation and it’s become a matter of empirical, scientific fact.”<br> <br> <br> In this episode of Life & Faith, Baggini takes back the reins on the free will<br> debate and guides us through his thoughts on this question of whether we have<br> free will, and what true freedom might look like.<br> <br> <br> “Freedom isn’t about the ability to just<br> choose anything you want, it’s actually the capacity for your actions to flow<br> from your best nature.”<br> <br> <br>
