Tuesday 8 February 2011
An opportunity not to be missed!!
Free will and brain determinism, the idea that cognition is determined by prior events, are to be the topic of an upcoming lecture at the University of Cambridge’s Faraday Institute.
Professor Peter Clarke from the University of Lausanne will discuss the various approaches used in philosophical defences of free will and human responsibility. Libertarian positions imply freedom in decision making processes, for example, by invoking the existence of a disembodied soul and often using Heisenbergian uncertainty to support their argument.
In this seminar, Professor Clarke uses a variety of studies, including ones into the resistance of cells and thermal noise, to discount the potential perturbations of the uncertainty principle. He will reject the idea of behaviour as a product of soley genetic and environmental influences and argue for a compatibilist approach, the belief that free will and determinism are compatible and it is feasible to believe both.
The Faraday Institute Seminar is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 8 February at 1 pm (lunch from 12.30pm) at The Garden Room, St. Edmund's College, Cambridge. It is not necessary to RSVP but it is recommended that attendees arrive early to guarantee a seat.
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