In Part I of the philosophical diversions series, we discussed free will. Today, let's bring up some other thoughts:
Conscious Decisions
Consciousness by Annaka Harris
Naïve Realism
- Ross, L., & Ward, A. (1996). Naive realism in everyday life: Implications for social conflict and misunderstanding. In T. Brown, E. S. Reed & E. Turiel (Eds.), Values and Knowledge (pp. 103–135).
Fundamental Attribution Error
Umvelt
Additional New Information
More on ODR
Now on to the Podcast
Editor-in-Chief, at EMCrit.org
An ED Intensivist from NY.
Professor
Nassau University Medical Center
No conflicts of interest (coi).
Professor
Nassau University Medical Center
No conflicts of interest (coi).
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Hi Scott, I would like to share an anecdote and I’ll try to make it as brief as possible – it will still be kinda lengthy, but i think you’ll like it. I’m a neurologist in Germany, at the moment subspecializing in neurological intensive care. Prior to that, I worked at an epilepsy center for four years, where we would do the workup for patients about to undergo epilepsy surgery. This would include subdural electrode recording and stimulation for cortical mapping. When you stimulate an electrode on the motor cortex, you’ll see some movement, normally jerky or like a cramp.… Read more »
Derek, thanks for the anecdote. I will have to respectfully disagree however that because a mere “feeling of volition” was induced via electric stimulation, free will is now somehow debunked. There is no question as to the connection of consciousness and certain physiological events. But your story demonstrates only a certain aspect of that connection. An example of a certain brain activity related to a certain physiological intervention cannot put to bed the question of the liberty of a rational mind. The entire context of abstract intentions and unseen goals of the clinicians and patient that lead to the procedure… Read more »
Hi Micah, of course you are completely correct that this one occurrence is not the end to the discussion about free will, that was a bit hyperbolic on my side. It did act effectively on my confirmation bias, however, because I had already felt disaffection for the idea of free will. As I see it, there are many constraints to volition so that the mind is only “free” within limitations, and then it becomes a matter of definition whether you regard that as “really free”. There’s a nice Schopenhauer quote, “A man can do what he wants, but he cannot… Read more »
Hello Scott, I’m really enjoying these episodes. I think we all could benefit from a little more philosophical diversion. Keep ’em coming! I do want to point out what seems to have been overlooked so far. Namely the metaphysical/philosophical presuppositions that inform your conclusions. Much, if not all, of what you have presented or argued concerning free will seems grounded firmly in a materialist view of reality. Whereby nothing outside of the physical realm is said to exist as proven by empirical observation. (Interestingly the assertion itself can never be “proven” via empirical observation alone). This mechanistic/materialist approach to reality… Read more »
Micah, Thank you for taking the time to craft and post these comments. I hope you will be ok if I respond to them out of the order they were listed: As to my expertise in philosophy, my prefaced proviso was that I am not a professional philosopher. I have an undergrad’s knowledge of philosophy supplemented with self-assigned grad level readings on my areas of interest. That level of expertise is tempered and sometimes limited by a similar level of learning on psychology. If you are a professional philosopher, I would love to know b/c that is an authority that… Read more »
Scott, Thank you for the thoughtful reply! First, I want to clarify. I did not intend to question your knowledge of or familiarity with philosophy. I merely wanted to acknowledge the modesty with which you approached this topic. I commend it. Forgive my clumsy writing. As for me, I am certainly not a professional philosopher. Undergrad training and largely self guided reading comprise my experience in this field. You define your stance in regards to seeking truth as that of a scientist. And certainly in the realm of physical reality I stand next to you. However science as a method… Read more »
Micah,
So much interesting stuff to go through here. Would you be amenable to an actual conversation?
Scott,
Of course!
Hi Scott, I’ll keep this brief as I understand we are all quite inundated the majority of the time. Despite enjoying your podcast for several years this is my first time commenting, which I identify not to allude complacency, but rather to compliment you and let you know how immensely I enjoyed your discussion of these topics. I think many of us get caught up in the tangible details of clinical care, which is for good reason as focusing on evidence-based practice saves lives. When it comes down to quality of care, I feel that the intangible elements of human… Read more »
Hi Scott. So first I want to say thanks for your efforts to encourage a higher level of consciousness while also helping us stay grounded in hands-on reality. I really love these explorations and hope that you will continue them. Unfortunately, I have only a superficial knowledge of philosophy, having wasted my undergrad youth studying physics and the associated math, neither of which are especially helpful in my professional or personal life, although still fascinating. On the other hand, I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Theravadan Buddhist practice and study, as well as reading the likes of Kahneman,… Read more »
agree with all of those comments! only thing i would quibble with is the sense that determinism implies predictability. The operative ? in my mind is if we could theoretically rewind time, could we do differently than we have done.
Good point. I was thinking of the post-Newtonian idea that given any point in time, if you have complete information about the universe you could predict its entire past and future. I’m wondering even if you could “rewind time“, quantum effects over time would accumulate to give a different outcome. And maybe, even over relatively short periods of time, those effects, acting in our neural net, might yield different outcomes if you allowed the process to unfold multiple times from the same starting point. Of course, that’s a pretty unsatisfying kind of “free will“ and that doesn’t change your basic… Read more »
Scott – Love your podcast and have enjoyed your initial detour into the philosophical realm. I’d like to touch on the epistemological issues that seem to divide the “pure science” folks and those that have a broader definition of knowledge, information, etc. The value of science in our lives and clinical practices is self-evident. It is a remarkable tool of profound utility. However, I don’t believe we can discount all anecdotes that suggest reality is more than the sum of its material components. I sincerely believe that much of the world we try to understand — certainly in the realm… Read more »