In 1983, one study by an American physiologist set off an explosion of research about free will and the brain.
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Articles on Free will
Displaying 1 - 20 of 21 articles
Taking oath is an important tradition before assuming charge of a public office. It entails a commitment to the future. What is the history of oath-taking?
Leading tech companies are increasingly using AI to influence our behaviour. But how persuasive do we find virtual assistants?
The criminal justice system presupposes people generally are free to decide whether or not to engage in criminal behaviour. However, the courts acknowledge not everyone has free will.
Scientists are revealing the extent to which our behaviour is influenced by our genes, calling into question our capacity for free will. But there is still scope for change.
Have you ever watched something because YouTube recommended it to you? You've probably been influenced by an algorithm. But at the end of the day, underneath all the algorithms are people.
Is everything predetermined, or is it all random? Or is there something in between that we call free will that defies our attempts to explain it?
If every action spilts the universe into different versions, what does that mean for free will?
The captain of a ship, or a soul, doesn't sail while ignoring the wind – sometimes they go with it, sometimes against it, but they always account for it.
Your beliefs about free will can have a powerful effect on how you behave.
If an alien landed on Earth, how would you decide if it had free will like us, or was a sophisticated automaton?
By surrendering to technology are humans sleepwalking into a future where free will is less and less of an option?
A new study with fruit flies suggests that we may have less free will when it comes to choosing what we eat than we like to think.
If you believe that you are in charge of your life and your actions, does that mean you also feel more like yourself?
The best guard against a free market's downsides and consumer culture is for individual consumers to take responsibility for their choices.
Study finds identical twins more likely to vote the same way -- unless they back the Lib Dems.
An American neuroscientist claims to have solved the problem of free will. Peter Tse, who works at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, says that the key to free will lies in how neurons can rewire each…
For most of the last couple of centuries, philosophers have had the question of free will largely to themselves (prior to that date, the distinction between philosophy and the natural sciences was less…
The debate over the use of mandatory pre-commitment technology in poker machines is the latest front in an ongoing war that pits advocates of personal responsibility against people motivated by concerns…
Science and religion are often cast as opponents in a battle for human hearts and minds. But far from the silo of strict creationism and the fundamentalist view that evolution simply didn’t happen lies…
Top contributors
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Senior Research Fellow, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
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Professor of Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London
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Associate Professor of Physics, University of Melbourne
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Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Griffith University
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Associate Professor and Head of Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, University of Melbourne
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Lecturer in Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Sheffield
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Professor of Philosophy, Macquarie University
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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Ethics, Nottingham Trent University
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Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
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King's College London
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Professor of Philosophy, King's College
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Adjunct Lecturer in Law, University of Sydney
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Senior Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, University of Adelaide
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Ph.D. Candidate in Social and Personality Psychology, Texas A&M University
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Lecturer in Media and Journalism, Glasgow Caledonian University
