Mind and 'True Free Will': Mind is a level above physical nature, more like the level where 'laws' come from - it may have associated to it 'acausal' phenomena such as eg:
1. the ‘measurement problem’ ('collapse of the wave function') in quantum physics;
2. the acausality of the emergence of the universe into existence;
3. perhaps even the ultimate acausality of true creativity
4. the true free will which enfranchises true moral responsibility.
Of course if mind exists, it does not necessarily imply the existence of free will. A true free will may or may not be sufficient to support the notion of true moral responsibility, however a true objective morality and moral responsibility for one’s actions is possible only if there is a true free will (to whatever extent there is real freedom, however miniscule it may be).
An entirely different level is proposed by those who also believe in a ‘soul’, and/or a ground of being or source of existence, or Mind, and this leads to ‘religion’, however it may well be that most of what religions believe can be encompassed within – or explained by – a certain type of mind-infused universe.
It is likely that only those with a mind can even consider the possibility that there is a 'true free will', the bane of all mechanistic materialists. See the article regarding cosmology, acausality & true free will in the context of 'objective morality' Einstein's views .
From an ethical humanist perspective the tricky question arises as to whether non-conscious entities are ‘truly human’, and whether or not they actually 'experience' anything including pain and pleasure etc. And of course they couldn’t understand what 'experiencing' anything means.
Nor could the minded really consider them morally responsible for their actions since true free will presumably can exist only when awareness exists.
The religious perspective perhaps insists that all 'humans' should be considered to have souls; however perhaps they do not necessarily possess minds? But if in the religious perspective (escept those which believe in predetermination) all humans are considered to have moral responsibility for their actions, then all humans would need do possess at least some aspect of mind.
Alternately, perhaps what is lacking among materialists is just the self-awareness of Mind.
The Revolt of Meaning against the tyranny of pseudo-science materialism
Freeing/Liberating our higher selves from the intimidation of materialism/naturalism/mechanism masquerading as science
Before it's too late, when AI created in the image of its materialist masters rules that our essence is a delusion....
Humanity arose not long ago from a mixed multitude of separately-evolved beings, each with its own specific mutation leading to spience. The property of consciousness or awareness or mind either arose as a result of the sophistication of some of these newly-evolved brains or it pre-existed them just that now it was able to be experienced - but only by some of these new brains, not all of them. Still today there are many very brilliant people who lack this most fundamental feature.
And soon, AI will not just be (Turing-indistinguishable from their creators, but indeed reach their level of sentience - but that is far too low a bar, since many of these human AI-designers themselves lack the essence which distinguishes the rest of us from machines. Machines will be programmed to behave in accordance with the compassion of their materialist designers, but lacking as do their creators the inner spark which is called consciousness or awareness or mind - and perhaps the algorithms which will govern all aspects of our lives in a future fast approaching will rule that those of us with the 'mind-delusion' are insane and cannot be allowed full rights or professional recognition.
And hence, the time is ripe for a revolt, against the materialist pseudo-science masquerading as rational scientific thinking, intimidating those who attempt to point out its emptiness.
Materialist science set itself up as Emperor, but we the minded can see that the Emperor has no clothes.