In 1983, one study by an American physiologist set off an explosion of research about free will and the brain.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in Oct. 12 for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Leah Millis/Pool via AP
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?
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.
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.
Can you choose not to?
Muslianshah Masrie/Shutterstock
Neil Levy, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
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…
Our actions may be fully caused and determined by events that precede our very existence, but not all causes are alike.
Josef Grunig/Flickr
Neil Levy, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
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 capacity to make choices that promote our ends is dependent on a supportive environment.
AAP
Neil Levy, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
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…
Is there room for “intelligible” design in the science versus religion debate?
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…