Ep. 390 The Elusive Connection Between Free Will, the Self, and Quantum Uncertainty
Bob samples from Alex O’Connor, Ben Shapiro, and Freeman Dyson to offer his latest understanding of the connection between free will, the self, and quantum uncertainty.
Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
- Alex O’Connor debates Ben Shapiro on God.
- Freeman Dyson on free will and quantum physics.
- The double-split experiment showcasing uncertainty at atomic level.
- The BMS episode which outlines Bob’s “red dot in a movie theater” analogy to reconcile human free will with God’s sovereignty.
- The link for Monetary-Metals.com.
- Help support the Bob Murphy Show.
About the author, Robert
Christian and economist, Chief Economist at infineo, and Senior Fellow with the Mises Institute.
The argument about consciousness and evolution only makes sense if you assume that consciousness is some separate thing that appears on its own separate from other aspects of the human brain. I.e. it only makes sense if you believe there can possibly be such a thing as a human that is not conscious. This is likely not how it works. Consciousness is probably an emergent phenomenon that just shows up in any brain as complex as the human one.
The delusion of free will is actually a completely separate concept from this, though they are closely related. It should be easy to see why a conscious being would benefit from the belief that it has free will.
GREAT episode!
I have been spending a lot of time lately thinking about these kinds of topics as well.
thanks at some point I should have you on the show