Cognitive Science 0278 - Freewill and Determinism

The freewill problem. Are human beings free? If not, why not? What happens if God, or anyone else, people in the NSA, for example, or even our friends, know the future? Does that make us unfree? If time travel is possible, does that tend to make us unfree? Is there any way of squaring freewill and what we know from science, especially neuroscience and psychology, and is so called hard determinism true, the proposition that no human action is free because all human actions are events caused as a part of nature? There will be two papers, question sets, a one-hour mid-term and a one-hour final. The questions on the exams will be drawn from the question sets. Also required are two short (6-page) papers. Prerequisite: At least one prior philosophy course.

Independent Work Writing and Research In this course, students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. This time includes reading, writing, research.