Do We Have Free Will?

Open to Debate

Education, Society & Culture, News, Government, Politics

4.5 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2023

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Are we the true authors of our actions – or are we guided by a preordained fate? From the days of Greek philosophers to the present, the notion of free will and the question of whether humans can make their own choices is as captivating as ever. Those who think that free will exists consider it foundational to a rules-based society since it holds individuals accountable for their actions. Those who don’t believe in it argue everything that happens to us, and our actions and choices, is determined by prior existing conditions. Though we may feel in control of our actions, they are influenced by factors outside of our control, like upbringing, societal pressures, and biological predispositions. With this background, we now debate the question: Do We Have Free Will? Arguing Yes: Roy Baumeister, Social Psychologist, Author of “Free Will and Consciousness: How Might They Work” Arguing No: Robert Sapolsky, Neuroscientist; Professor at Stanford University Nayeema Raza, Journalist at New York Magazine and Vox, is the guest moderator. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This year at Azda in thousands of blind taste tests, hundreds of our products proved as tasty or tastier than M&S.
0:09.0	We asked our new Chief Quality Officer Michael Buble what he thought.
0:13.2	Well I could have told you that.
0:14.8	Emmus tasted Azda price, right?
0:17.2	Put on a show this Christmas.
0:19.8	Azda.
0:20.8	That's more like it. Selected Asder stores online subject to availability for verification see
0:26.0	Azder.com slash independent tests from May 2023.
0:30.0	This is open to debate. I'm John Don Van.
0:34.3	Hi everybody. Today our debaters take on one of the oldest questions at the very heart of
0:38.8	being human. Do we have free will? I am exercising my free will on this one by handing off the moderating task to journalist
0:46.3	and documentarian Naimar Raza.
0:48.3	Naima has moderated for us in the past and is a very good friend of the show.
0:52.3	This is a fun conversation that goes to some unexpected places, including a world where ants speak French, so please enjoy.
1:00.0	Hi everybody, I'm a journalist at New York magazine where I executive produce and I'm on the podcast on with Kara Swisher
1:06.0	I'm also a documentary filmmaker but lately it's been hard for me to focus on anything at all
1:11.9	Since the team had opened to debate
1:13.4	asked me if I'd be interested in wrangling a conversation about whether we
1:17.5	humans have free will or not. It's a question that can quickly lead you down a rabbit
1:22.3	hole of literature, which begins with
1:23.7	dusting off the philosophical musings of Plato and Aristotle before delving into the physical determinations
1:29.8	of the laws of nature, and then reviewing all kinds of biological studies of humans versus, say, chimps.
	...

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