The Science of Free Will

The argument of this stimulating book is stated in its subtitle – how determinism affects everything from the future of AI to traffic to God to bees. The individual is equated with the body in line with physicalism – we are composed of atoms and water molecules – hence we are subject to the deterministic laws of quantum electrodynamics. In other words, physics precludes free will in theory (FWIT). The five systematic chapters discuss the nature of free will, determinism, computation, free will in practice, and consequences. An important part of the argument is computational irreducibility leading to unpredictably complex results, and we experience what the author calls free will in practice (FWIP). Predetermined does not mean predictable. There is a certain circularity, as pointed out by Bergson, in the contention that ‘whatever was going to happen is what happened.’ (p. 127)

This position denies the openness of the future, a point also emphasised by Ilya Prigogine. Not surprisingly, the author asserts that consciousness is brain-based, and his computational model (see my review of Christof Koch above) means that replacing an original neuron with an artificial neuron is functionally equivalent; and if Jack before replacement was conscious, so is artificial Jack after replacement due to computational equivalence. This only works if you believe that consciousness is computational and not irreducible. The last sentence sums up the author’s philosophical position: ‘There is no place for spirits, souls, or other forms of mysticism. It’s atoms all the way down.’ (p. 190) However, he does conclude that even if the universe is arbitrary, it does not mean that it is pointless – we can create our own meaning, and we are at the very least ‘one process (he does not use the word consciousness) that is trying to understand the universe.’