Do We Have Freewill? / Daniel Dennett VS Robert Sapolsky

To say nothing of where I stand on this argument, these speakers have definitely helped me decide what kind of old guy I hope to be someday.

"The past isn't even past. The past is who we are now." - Robert Sapolsky Powerful.

"It's hard to keep that in mind. Keep it in mind for when it really matters...for when you're judging harshly." Loved that so much.

"People are conscious of their actions while ignoring the causes that determine them" Spinoza

“A man can DO what he wills, but he cannot WILL what he wills”

A grave misstep was allowed before starting any arguments — that is not agreeing on the definition of the 'freewill' beforehand.

RIP Dennet. Your legacy lives on

I love this conversation and have massive respect for Sapolsky especially, I can’t help but feel like this is mostly an argument about the semantics of what free will means to Dennett. And not actually about the lack of “will to will” that Sapolsky is referring to.

I get the impression that both viewpoints are logical, but based on different definitions of free will.

the more I listen to Robert Sapolsky the more he makes sense to the point where I can't comprehend Dennett anymore

Great discussion, Mr Dennett will be missed dearly

Define freewill first,once a consensus is reached,the debate can then and only then be of significance.

Wonderful stuff. Definitely the debate I wanted to hear on this subject, between two of the thinkers I admire most. Dennett has a line about 'sophisticated' theists. Not quoting exactly but he says something like 'they're not stupid. They don't believe but they believe in belief.' It's a great line. The more I read and listen to him, the more I sense that he doesn't believe in free will, he believes in belief in free will. His slightly disbelieving 'but don't you want to be held responsible, Robert?' really brought this home to me. Like the believers in belief, who think we would lose our ability to act morally without it, he's terrified that without belief in free will, we'd 'run amok', as Sapolsky puts it.

“…even before I became daft for reading philosophers” Great comeback line. I like them both.

I am very much attracted by Robert‘s view which effectively cuts off the basis of meritocracy. It has the capacity to reduce self centeredness and raise a profound understanding for the Other and the conditions that framed the positions she has arrived at in life.

Something that needs to be added to these type of discussions is that our tools for communication, the language we use is not yet equipped with the necessary words to explain many things and on the contrary, we have through the history created words which misguide rather than clarify. Oftentimes these words do not represent an accurate meaning of something real but rather a vague feeling for which we decided to have a name. One example of that can be the word pride. These words should not be relied on when the aim is to understand the mechanism of existence.

How great it is to hear two great minds bring such "twinkle in the eye" tussling over the subject matter! As an aside I would like to mention the passing of Professor Michael Sugrue a couple of days ago. A seriously wonderful lecturer and mind in the world of philosophy. He will be missed.

Thank you for this. I got very excited and thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. Brilliant people.

I am a higher than average functioning left amygdala hippocampectomy patient. MRI’s displayed an anomaly cluster of densely compacted neurons in my left prefrontal cortex. The logical conclusion I’ve come to is that this was a compensatory measure to help balance out the functional deficit resulting from the removal of the left amygdala hippocampus. I have been a fan of Robert’s work since Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcer’s. Not that familiar with Daniel Dennett. Only seen a couple of his lectures online. I learned about brain plasticity back in 1991 post-op, but was too cognitively detached to put it into practice. Over the years I discovered brain plasticity pioneers like Michael Merzenich and V.S. Ramachandran. Mike’s brain games verifiably increased my IQ scores according to very thorough 2 day long tests conducted at separate universities: University of Chicago, UIC, and Northwestern University. In my personal experience, there’s no tax on Free will and biological determinism living in the same space at the same time. Life is a back and forth of both these frames of mind. It’s just a matter of which is prudent in what particular space and at what particular time. P.S. Also, just wanted to say thanks to these two intellectual giants. Particularly Robert. Listening to him throughout the years has helped me survive my situation. Relearning the process of proper threat identification has saved my butt more than once while traversing the sometimes wicked streets of Chicago.

Thank you..! Truly enjoyable debate..! Both perspectives hold a valid point.