I am excited to announce a dialogue about free will and science between Robert Sapolsky (Stanford University) and Eddy Nahmias (Georgia State University). The event will be on Thursday March 19th at 7:00pm EST. This event is being co-sponsored by the Philosophy Department and the Psychology Department at College of Charleston.
Here is the Zoom link: https://cofc.zoom.us/j/85013282586
About the Event:
In two recent books, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (2017) and Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will (2023), Professor Sapolsky has argued that what science has taught us about human agency (and the cosmos more generally) undermines our traditional picture of free will and responsibility. Pushing back against this type of scientific skepticism about moral agency has been the focus of Professor Nahmias' work for more than 25 years. This event is designed to bring together a skeptic and a compatibilist in order to facilitate an engaging dialogue about the nature and limitations of human agency.
The structure of the event is as follows: First, Professor Sapolsky and Professor Nahmias will each have 15 minutes to present their own views about science and free will. This will be followed by a 30 minute conversation between the two. Finally, there will be a 30 minute Q & A session (with some questions being set aside for undergraduates in attendance). This is the first event like this that I have organized for ARRG. So, please join us and help spread the word!
About the Participants:
Robert Sapolsky is John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor and Professor of Biology, Neurology, and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University. His research focuses primarily on stress, stress-related illnesses, and coping mechanisms. In addition to publishing nearly 300 journal articles, he is the author of several best-selling books including Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers (2004), Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (2017), and Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will (2023). During his career, Professor Sapolsky has received numerous honors and awards for his work, including a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the John P. McGovern Award for Behavioral Science.
Eddy Nahmias is Professor of Philosophy, Associate Faculty in Neuroscience, and Affiliate Member of the Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics at Georgia State University. His research focuses primarily on the free will debate, especially potential threats to free will posed by the sciences of the mind (e.g., neuroscience and psychology), and conversely, what these sciences can tell us about how free will works in humans. Professor Nahmias has published widely in both philosophy and psychology. He has also published shorter pieces for a popular audience in The New York Times (“Is Neuroscience the Death of Free Will?), Scientific American (“Why We Have Free Will”), 3:AM Magazine (“Questioning Willusionism”), and The Philosophers’ Magazine (“Defining Free Will Away”).