Is Free Will an Illusion?

There is an interesting series of articles on free will in the Chronicle of Higher Education.  The contributors, both scientists and philosophers, include Jerry Coyne, Alfred Mele, Michael Gazzaniga, Hilary Bok, Owen Jones and Paul Bloom.

For centuries, the idea that we are the authors of our own actions, beliefs, and desires has remained central to our sense of self. We choose whom to love, what thoughts to think, which impulses to resist. Or do we? 

Neuroscience suggests something else. We are biochemical puppets, swayed by forces beyond our conscious control. So says Sam Harris, author of the new book, Free Will (Simon & Schuster), a broadside against the notion that we are in control of our own thoughts and actions. Harris's polemic arrives on the heels of Michael S. Gazzaniga's Who's In Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain (HarperCollins), and David Eagleman's Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain (Pantheon), both provocative forays into a debate that has in recent months spilled out onto op-ed and magazine pages, and countless blogs. 

What's at stake? Just about everything: morality, law, religion, our understanding of accountability and personal accomplishment, even what it means to be human. Harris predicts that a declaration by the scientific community that free will is an illusion would set off "a culture war far more belligerent than the one that has been waged on the subject of evolution."

Is Free Will an Illusion? - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Prestige

Is it magic or science? Can a person be copied? Do we prefer mystery over understanding? Join us as we watch and discuss Christopher Nolan's amazing film The Prestige. Friday, April 13, from 3:00 to 6:00 in the GH Digitorium.

I think that The Prestige is the Nolans' reflection on film as an illusion: filmmaking is art because it has a certain structure that the filmmaker uses in order to guide the audience through an illusion. In the same way as the magician, the filmmaker sacrifices himself in order to create a cathartic world that the audience will believe in for the time of the film’s projection. The theme of magic and its various aspects (the nature and life of the magician, the performance of tricks, the meaning of magic for the audience) is thus a metaphor for the real subject-matter of the film: filmmaking as a form of art. (Ophelie Wolf)

The key to the film is the discussion of the role of magic and illusion. The film cannot help making one reflect on how awe and wonder work when humans think about the fact that reality does not always conform to the way we think it should work. The question you have to ask yourself: Is it part of the human condition to want to be fooled? Once we know the secret, it looses its power; maybe it is better to remain a mystery. Avoid the shallow, and listen closely for the deeper truth. (Greg Veltman)

The Problem of Evil

The Philosophers' Cafe will discussion the Problem of Evil on Friday, March 30, from 3:00 to 4:00 in SU 105 at NKU. Please come out and join the discussion.

Bertrand Russell

A very short but interesting biography of philosopher Bertrand Russell.

As an undergraduate Russell had become increasingly disenchanted with the way in which his lecturers and tutors had presented mathematics. Their lack of logical rigour seemed to reduce it to no more than a bag of tricks designed for the puzzle-solving requirements of the Mathematical Tripos [exams]. His interests shifted to the need to put mathematics on a secure logical basis, and so from maths to philosophy. But the need for a foundation for mathematics was more than a philosophical challenge. Russell craved an absolute certainty which he felt he could only find in this way. For over a decade he laboured mightily with Whitehead on the monumental undertaking to provide mathematics with a secure logical basis. Their work transformed mathematical logic, but it foundered on what has become known as ‘Russell’s Set Paradox’.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) | Philosophy Now:

Blade Runner

Join us on Friday, March 16 in the Digitorium (GH) for the next movie discussion in our Film and Philosophy series.  We'll screen Blade Runner starting at 3:00, followed with discussion.

Here are some links to interesting discussion of the movie

• Blade Runner: What is means to be human in the cybernetic state (John W. Whitehead)
• Philosophy Meets Hollywood: Descartes among the androids (Stephen T. Asma)
• What Defines Human? (Jens Brandt)

PHI/REL Fall 2012 Schedule

The PHI & REL Fall 2012 Schedule posters are out!

Leibniz or Newton?

Free John Searle Classes Online

Berkeley has posted three of John Searle's philosophy classes online for free.

You can’t dabble in the world of philosophy very long without encountering John Searle. One of America’s most respected philosophers, Searle did important work on “speech act” theory during the 1960s, then later turned to consciousness and artificial intelligence, out of which came his famous “Chinese room” thought experiment. Searle has taught philosophy at UC-Berkeley since 1959, and, until recently, his courses were only available to matriculated students. But this fall semester, the good folks at Berkeley recorded three courses taught by Searle, and made them available online.

Free John Searle classes (Open Culture)

Philosophers' Cafe - Cosmopolitanism

Join us at the Philosophers' Cafe as we discuss Cosmopolitanism. Are we all citizens of the world? Do we bear special responsibilities to others around the world? How should we balance our obligations to our countries and to citizens of other countries around the world?

Friday, February 24 from 3:00-4:00 in SU 105.

Spinoza's vision of freedom, and ours

Spinoza's vision of freedom...

Well before John Stuart Mill, Spinoza had the acuity to recognize that the unfettered freedom of expression is in the state’s own best interest. In this post-9/11 world, there is a temptation to believe that “homeland security” is better secured by the suppression of certain liberties than their free exercise. This includes a tendency by justices to interpret existing laws in restrictive ways and efforts by lawmakers to create new limitations, as well as a willingness among the populace, “for the sake of peace and security,” to acquiesce in this. We seem ready not only to engage in a higher degree of self-censorship, but also to accept a loosening of legal protections against prior restraint (whether in print publications or the dissemination of information via the Internet), unwarranted surveillance, unreasonable search and seizure, and other intrusive measures. Spinoza, long ago, recognized the danger in such thinking, both for individuals and for the polity at large. He saw that there was no need to make a trade-off between political and social well-being and the freedom of expression; on the contrary, the former depends on the latter.

A Homepage for Philosophy

If you haven't done so yet, you should checkout the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. It's a wonderful resource for philosophers, with a large number of various entries written by credible authors. With each entry you'll also find a solid reference list and links to online resources.

The SEP’s approach seems to have worked. The resource’s credibility and accuracy are unquestioned..., and it attracts an abundant audience, with between 600,000 and 700,000 accesses per week during the academic year.

A Home page for Philosophy 

Eternal Sunshine...

We screen the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Friday at 3:00 in Budig Theater. For those not familiar with the movie, here is a summary from the film's web site:

From acclaimed writer Charlie Kaufman and visionary director Michel Gondry comes Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. An all-star ensemble cast shines in this comical and poignant look at breakups, breakdowns and breakthroughs. Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to get the same treatment. But as his memories of Clementine begin to fade, Joel suddenly realizes how much he still loves her. Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood co-star in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - a memorable film that The Wall Street Journal calls "a romantic comedy unlike any other!"

You can read a nice paper by Christopher Grau on the "Morality of Memory" at http://bit.ly/yajDfb. As Grau points out, the film introduces the inverse of Nozick's Experience Machine and has us asking questions about the erasure of accurate memories. Grau explores the moral dimensions of this. There is also a nice reference in the movie to Nietzsche's idea of eternal reoccurrence.

Philosophy and the Science of Happiness

Students are encouraged to submit papers to a conference entitled, “Philosophy and the Science of Happiness.” It will be held Saturday, April 14th, 2012, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Dr. Erik Angner is the main speaker and will be speaking on the conference theme. College students may present on any topic relating to philosophy, including economics topics; students must submit essays for approval by March 1st, 2012 in order to present at the conference. Included as part of the conference is an essay contest for undergraduate students. Students may use papers that they have already written for class.

Registration is FREE and is now open.

The specifications for the essays along with other details of the conference may be found at: philosophy.gmu.edu/events/2169 . One can e-mail gmuphilosophyconference@gmail.com for more information. Check out the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/329212190439166/.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The spring Film and Philosopher series begins Friday, February 10, from 3:00 to 6:00 in Budig Theater in the NKU University Center. We'll screen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and follow with a discussion of some of the interesting philosophical ideas in this film. Bring your friends.

Gillian Russell to speak at UC on Relativism

WINTER SPEAKER SERIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

Gillian Russell
Washington University in St. Louis

Relativism without the Fancy Intensions

Friday, February 3
3:00pm, 354 McMicken Hall

20 Brain-Bending TED Talks for Philosophy Students

20 Brain-Bending TED Talks for Philosophy Students.

Philosophy may get a bad rap for being an unmarketable college major, but in actuality, the lessons taught in philosophy classes can be applied to just about everything we do, day in and day out. From morality and ethics to free will and aesthetics, philosophical questions surround us in the creative, business, and scientific fields. Whether you need a reminder of the awesomeness of all things philosophy-related or just want to stretch your brain, check out these amazing TED talks. You’ll hear from a range of scientists, researchers, academics, and yes, even philosophers on issues that have been troubling the human mind for centuries.

Philosophy and Everyday Lives

How can philosophy be useful for our everyday lives? Gary Gutting discusses the matter in his NY Times Opinionator piece.

Even though basic beliefs on ethics, politics and religion do not require prior philosophical justification, they do need what we might call “intellectual maintenance,” which itself typically involves philosophical thinking. Religious believers, for example, are frequently t...roubled by the existence of horrendous evils in a world they hold was created by an all-good God. Some of their trouble may be emotional, requiring pastoral guidance. But religious commitment need not exclude a commitment to coherent thought. For instance, often enough believers want to know if their belief in God makes sense given the reality of evil. The philosophy of religion is full of discussions relevant to this question. Similarly, you may be an atheist because you think all arguments for God’s existence are obviously fallacious. But if you encounter, say, a sophisticated version of the cosmological argument, or the design argument from fine-tuning, you may well need a clever philosopher to see if there’s anything wrong with it.

Liberal arts education lends an edge in down economy

 Good news for those majoring in the liberal arts.

Recent college graduates who as seniors scored highest on a standardized test to measure how well they think, reason and write — skills most associated with a liberal arts education — were far more likely to be better off financially than those who scored lowest, says the survey, released today by the Social Science Research Council, an independent organization.

Liberal arts education lends an edge in down economy

Philosophy Cafe: Personal Identity

The Philosophy Cafe!

Topic: Personal Identity. 

When/Where: Jan 27, 2012 3:00 PM in SU 108

Suppose your brain was transplanted into another body. Would that be you with a new body, or would it be the other person with a new brain? Would you rather be a brain donor or a recipient?

Suppose you walk into a teletransportation machine. A map is made of all the atoms that make up your body and brain. The information that is mapped is sent to another place where different local atoms are rearranged to make an exact duplicate of your body and brain. The original body is destroyed. The new body has all your memories, beliefs, plans and attitudes. Is that you?


For more information contact Professor Yaw: frimpongma1@nku.edu

Study in Greece

Religious studies or philosophy students might be interested in this study abroad opportunity in Greece. Steve Watkins will be teaching two religious studies courses.

NKU and KIIS (Kentucky Institute for International Studies) is offering two religious studies courses in GREECE this summer. NKU Professor Steve Watkins is teaching two courses: REL 301 Paul's Influence on Early Christianity and REL 399 Greek Orthodox Contributions to Christianity. This program will spend two weeks in Athens and will also travel to six islands (including an optional trip to Santorini) as well as travel to Delphi, Olympia, Corinth, Nauplion, Mycenae and other ancient historical sites. You may find out more information at the following websites: www.kiis.org  and at our Greece website greece2010.wetpaint.com 

Contact Steve Watkins at watkinss1@nku.edu if you have any questions.