logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2019
27m 38s

Free Will

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

What is the relationship between free will and religion? Historically, theistic religions have been dogged by questions concerning the nature of human agency. Do we make the choices we have in life because we can freely choose or does God somehow map life for us? If we don’t have free will how can we be held responsible for our actions in this life and the next? A belief in free will is central to the religious concept of "sin". Our criminal justice system rests on it. Yet developments in neuroscience suggest free will could be an illusion – that you can reduce human behaviour to the firing of neurons in the brain. But how can we live a moral life if we don’t have free will?

Joining Ernie Rea to discuss belief in free will are Rev Sharon Grenham-Thompson, an Anglican minister and former prison chaplain; Professor Rasjid Skinner a consultant clinical psychologist and Dr Richard Christian, Research Associate in Philosophy and Economics at the University of Manchester.

Producer: Catherine Earlam

Series Producer: Amanda Hancox

Up next
Apr 22
Cultural Religiosity
Giles Fraser meets columnist Giles Coren, who was raised in the Jewish tradition, became an atheist and who now feels at home in a Christian church, to explore what it means to be culturally religious.Is cultural religiosity an oxymoron and totally untenable? Is it on the rise or ... Show More
27m 29s
Apr 15
Claiming Christianity
Giles Fraser meets the Revd Canon Fr Phil Harris, of the Anglican Church in North America, to discuss defending Britain’s Christian heritage.Christianity has been deployed as a tool by those who have been labelled as far-right by their opponents, or by people supporting far-right ... Show More
27m 14s
Apr 8
Faithful Food
We hear from the volunteers serving an average of 1,500 meals a day at the Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha in Hounslow and explore the significance of langar in the Sikh and wider community. Mona Siddiqui and the panel explore the role food plays in religion. Do all religious trad ... Show More
27m 20s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2020
Christian List on Free Will
What is free will? Do we have it? These are difficult questions. Neuroscience seems to point in the direction of determinism. But Christian List suggests that there might still be room for genuine free will.    
23m 53s
Jun 2023
Degrees of Freedom
Freedom sounds great as an idea. Who doesn't want to be free to do what they want? But when you take a closer look, freedom becomes more complicated. What does it really mean to be free — and how free can we be? On this episode, we'll look at freedom from different perspectives. ... Show More
49m 28s
Sep 2020
Is free will an illusion? And does it matter? Dan Barker vs Braxton Hunter
Notable atheists like Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett claim we live in a deterministic universe and that free will is an illusion. But does losing human free will pose a problem for justice, morality and even the very act of reasoning itself? Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion ... Show More
1h 26m
Mar 2011
Free Will
In the 500th edition of the programme, Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the philosophical idea of free will.Free will - the extent to which we are free to choose our own actions - is one of the most absorbing philosophical problems, debated by almost every great thinker of the ... Show More
42m 20s
Jul 2016
23 - The Illusion Of Free Will
We want to win and we don't want to lose. The problem is that there is no winning without losing. There is no good without bad, no right without wrong. This is the basic understanding of non-duality. We are free to be what we are free to be but that also means we are not free to ... Show More
44m 10s
Nov 2014
Episode 57: Free Willie
David and Tamler talk about a new study that links your belief in free will to the fullness of your bladder. How do our bodily states influence our metaphysical commitments? What's the best way to measure beliefs about free will? Can you get your prostate checked without having s ... Show More
45m 39s
Jun 2020
Dr. Michael Egnor | Free Will and Totalitarian Ideologies (Part 2 of 2) [E152]
In part two of my discussion with Dr. Michael R. Egnor, we continue our discussion about neurophilosophy.In this episode, Dr. Egnor brings attention to the importance of embracing the free will of humanity.Dr. Egnor is an award-winning brain surgeon and a research professor of Ne ... Show More
54m 27s
Aug 2012
Episode 1: Brains, Robots, and Free Will (Free Will and Morality Pt. 1)
Dave and Tamler start out talking about the new wave of skepticism about free will and moral responsibility in the popular press from people like Sam Harris and Jerry Coyne.   Neuroscience figures heavily in their arguments, but Dave and Tamler agree that neuroscientific data add ... Show More
1h 10m
Jan 2024
If There Is No God, Is There Free Will? | With Alex O’Connor
Join me as I have a conversation with @CosmicSkeptic about free will, and whether or not free will is dependent on the existence of God. 
11m 30s