Unconscious Intentions Do Not Undermine Free Will


Some have said that free will is an illusion (e.g., Wegner, 2002). And some free will skeptics base their claims on evidence that experimenters can predict our decisions before we are aware of making the decision or forming an intention. This leap from pre-decision prediction to free will skepticism seems intuitive at first. Upon reflection, however, it seems odd. In this post, I’ll explain.

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What Christopher Peacocke means by ‘Reflective Self-consciousness’


Christopher Peacockeā€™sĀ The Mirror of the WorldĀ (2014) is largely about self-consciousness. In the book, Peacocke distinguishes ā€œreflectiveā€ self-consciousness from other kinds of self-consciousness. In this post, I will try to understand what Peacocke means by ā€˜reflectiveā€™. Spoiler: it is not what I and many other philosphers mean by ‘reflective’. Continue reading What Christopher Peacocke means by ‘Reflective Self-consciousness’