Episode 6

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Published on:

30th Sep 2021

Free Will (or Not?), Part 3: The Radical Ubiquity of "Me"

We will explore the barriers to explaining free will in the context of the philosophy of mind. Can a brain make a mind? Can real, rigorous, freedom come from the natural elements that make up a human being?

What role does language play in creating free will? What role does our history of language use play in creating an idea of free will that is so grandiose and mythologized as to be almost impossible to explain in a way that meets our expectations?

Also, I'll say "quote-unquote" quite a bit.

***SEASON ONE READINGS AND SOURCES***

A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities, by Pierre-Simon Laplace

Consciousness Explained, by Daniel C. Dennett (Paul Weiner, Illustrator)

Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting, by Daniel C. Dennett

Freedom Evolves, by Daniel C. Dennett

Meditations on First Philosophy, by René Descartes

Mystery of the Mind: A Critical Study of Consciousness and the Human Brain, by Wilder Penfield

Subjectivity, Realism, and Postmodernism: The Recovery of the World in Recent Philosophy, by Frank B. Farrell

Copyright 2024 Cori Di Biase

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About the Podcast

A Freedom of Ideas
Considering the Philosophy, Literature, and History of Liberty
The idea of freedom is central to the way we live our lives. Some of us say we would die to defend it, and many have. To explain who and what we are, we first call ourselves “free”.

But for as often as we say the word, do we understand what freedom is?

We will explore the idea of freedom through the lens of philosophy, history, literature… and whatever else we can find to learn from. I hope you’ll join the conversation.

About your host

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Cori DiBiase