Free Will, Consciousness And The Brain

by Matteo Cavalli Cavalli-Sforza (IFAE)

Wednesday 5 Feb 2020, 13:00 → 14:00 Europe/Madrid

IFAE Seminar Room (IFAE)

Four years ago I gave a pizza seminar partially devoted to the issue of Free Will.
 I said “We like to think that our mental processes are free, and that in the absence of external constraints we are masters of our decisions. However this view is incompatible with the principle of causality, and cannot coexist with scientific determinism.” Today, I will argue that the idea of human free will arises from being conscious of only a tiny part of the workings of our brain, and that even conscious will is mostly an illusion.
 Giving up on some of the most cherished tenets of our Judeo-Christian culture should not be seen as a loss. On the contrary, the alternative view, based on neurobiological evidence, should make us proud of the creative powers of our brain and may lead to a more empathetic view of the life of our fellow humans.