Why Free Will Might Be an Illusion | Leonard Susskind

Описание: Does free will actually exist — or is it just a story your brain tells you after the decision has already been made? In this video, we explore one of the most debated questions in neuroscience and philosophy: are you truly in control of your choices, or are you simply a witness to a process that happens without you?
We dive deep into Benjamin Libet's landmark experiments from the 1980s, where brain activity was detected up to 550 milliseconds before a person became conscious of deciding to act. We also examine more recent fMRI studies suggesting that researchers can predict your decisions up to 10 seconds before you're even aware of making them. From there, we explore how classical physics, determinism, and quantum mechanics all seem to leave no logical room for the kind of free will most of us believe we have.
We also take a hard look at compatibilism — the popular philosophical attempt to reconcile free will with determinism — and ask whether it truly saves free will or simply redefines it into something unrecognizable.
What You'll Discover:

Why neuroscience suggests your brain decides before you do
The famous Libet experiment and what it really means
Why neither determinism nor quantum randomness can give you free will
Why compatibilism may be a dodge rather than a solution
How understanding determinism could make you more compassionate — toward yourself and others
Whether the feeling of free will is an evolutionary illusion built for survival

Sources & Further Reading:

Libet, B. et al. (1983). Time of conscious intention to act in relation to onset of cerebral activity. Brain, 106(3), 623–642.
Soon, C.S. et al. (2008). Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain. Nature Neuroscience, 11, 543–545.
Penrose, R. (1989). The Emperor's New Mind. Oxford University Press.
Hameroff, S. & Penrose, R. (1996). Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) theory.
Mele, A. (2009). Effective Intentions: The Power of Conscious Will. Oxford University Press.
Kane, R. (1998). The Significance of Free Will. Oxford University Press.

Do you believe in free will? Let us know in the comments below.
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