Month: October 2013

What Does Neuroscience Tell About Free Will? The Libet and Other Experiments, and Interpretations

Introduction and Context: How do you think we “decide” to act? The common sense (and our experience) explanation is we (1)  make a conscious decision to do something (2) our brain activates whatever neuro-pathways are required for the action, the (3) we perform the action.  Libet’s famous experiments give strong evidence showing that this is […]

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X-Phi and The Freewill Determinism Debate: Are We Natural Compatibilists or Incompatibilists?

Introduction and ContextSo far in the free will vs determinism debate we’ve looked at the two major positions (libertarian free will and causal determinism), two interpretations of the debate (compatibilism and incompatibilism), and two positions on the relationship between the free will debate and moral responsibility (Strawson’s Basic Argument and Frankfurt’s compatibilism).  All the positions […]

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US Healthcare Debate: Resources. ACA Arguments For and Against, and Facts

I’ve been doing my own research on the ACA and doing my best not to let my biases get the best of me–as happens to any human being.  Anyhow, here’s a list of some of the best articles I’ve found.Begin Here:Listen:  I know it’s an hour, but it’s important. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/392/someone-elses-moneyFairly even-handed summary of the core issues: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/14/the-hurdles-to-success-for-the-affordable-care-act/Resources:Who […]

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Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person: Frankfurt

Introduction and ContextUp until now we’ve looked at a quick overview of the free will vs causal determinism debate.  Aside from the two basic positions–causal determinism and libertarian free will, there are two other “meta-positions”: compatibilism and incompatibilism which are basically attitudes toward the debate.  Incompatibilists say that causal determinism and free will are mutually […]

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The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility by Strawson

http://search.dilbert.com/comic/Free-willIntroduction and ContextThere is something very important at stake in the free will vs determinism debate:  is moral responsibility possible?  Strawson’s answer is “no” but this follows whether determinism is true or false! If Strawson is right, and we can’t be morally responsible for our actions, why the heck do most people think that we […]

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Overview of Freewill Vs Determinism

Introduction and ContextThe debate over the degree to which we have control (if any at all) over our actions is one of the longest debated topics in philosophy and there isn’t much reason to think it will end any time soon. The debate is known as the freewill-determinism debate.Before proceeding lets quickly define some of […]

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The Scientific Method Explained and Common Misunderstandings for the Religious and CAM Proponents

IntroductionMy aim here is to talk about some popular misconceptions about what science is, what it does, and how to best interpret scientific findings.  First, I will speak in general terms, and finally I will look at how these principles apply to CAM (i.e. complementary and alternative medicine), anti-vaccine, anti-GMO, and pretty much any science […]

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Summa Theologica and The Five Ways: Proofs for the Existence of God, The Cosmological Argument

Introduction and Context:Up until Aquinas in the 13th Century, the church’s (where academia existed) doctrine was neo-Platonic.  That is, it followed the philosophy of Plato.  Why does this matter?  Recall that beginning with Plato and Aristotle, a major debate can be traced through the history of philosophy:  Is knowledge accessed internally through a priori introspection […]

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Chalmers’ Zombies and The Hornswoggle Problem: Patricia Churchland

Context and IntroductionIn this article Patricia Churchland is arguing against David Chalmers’ assertion that the physical sciences, including contemporary disciplines like neuroscience, will never be able to explain consciousness.  More specifically, they will never be able to explain the hard problem of consciousness: how and why physical processes give rise to subjective experience.  Otherwise stated, […]

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