Resources

How to Live Without Guilt (Read on Medium or on Afreeism.org)

The Bizarre Case of Charles Whitman (Read on Medium.)

The Bizarre Case of Charles Whitman (Read on Medium.)

Against Moral Responsibility (Read on Medium.)

Afreeism: How a New (and Ancient) Understanding of the Universe Can Transform Society and Enrich Our Lives by Stephen G. Marks (Two Eggs and Toast Press, May 16, 2021)

Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky (Penguin Press, October 17, 2023)

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (Many publishers, originally published 1969)

What is Free Will: Debate between Robert Sapolsky v. Daniel DennettThis is a debate between Robert Sapolsky who is, by our definition, an Afreeist, and Daniel Dennet who is a compatibiist. Unfortunately, they spend a bit of time talking past each other. Both are determinists. The difference is that Dennett believes a people are morally responsible for their choices even if they could not have done otherwise than what they did.  He does not give a good reason for this other than to say that humans evolved the ability to choose. But this is no explanation at all. Many animals and even some machines have the ability to choose. We would never say they have free will. Sapolsky takes the afreeist view that, since we can never do otherwise than what we do, people are never morally responsible for what they do. Rather punishments must be based on other notions such as notions of deterrence.  Nevertheless, the debate is interesting and even entertaining.