International Conference on Free Will: New Perspectives from Philosophy, Biology and Neuroscience
This conference gathers leading experts in philosophy, biology and neuroscience who will be discussing free will. Cutting-edge research into the biological and neural basis of human and animal agency challenges deterministic assumptions, adding to doubts from quantum physics and pointing to non-reductionist views of agency and action causation. The conference explores the resulting prospects for a scientifically grounded, ontologically robust concept of 'libertarian' free will, breaking new ground in interdisciplinary research on free will.
What?
In everyday life, we naturally assume that it is up to us how we act, and that we are therefore responsible for our actions. However, free will in this strong, ‘libertarian’ sense - involving a choice between alternatives - is increasingly being questioned by philosophers and scientists. While traditional concerns were predicated on the deterministic laws of classical physics, today sceptics also cite biology and neuroscience. We are told that our genes or our brains, not we, decide what we want and how we act.
This conference gathers leading experts in philosophy, biology and neuroscience who argue the opposite. Cutting-edge research into the biological and neural basis of human and animal agency challenges deterministic assumptions, adding to doubts from quantum physics and pointing to non-reductionist views of agency and action causation. At the same time, recent advances in the philosophy of biology andmetaphysics offer new conceptual resources for understanding agency and free will under indeterminism. The conference explores the resulting prospects for a scientifically grounded, ontologically robust concept of ‘libertarian’ free will, breaking new ground in interdisciplinary research on free will.
Who?
Invited speakers:
- Björn Brembs (University of Regensburg),
- John Dupré (University of Exeter),
- Geert Keil (Humboldt University of Berlin),
- Christian List (LMU Munich),
- Anne Sophie Meincke (University of Vienna),
- Alfred R. Mele (Florida State University),
- Kevin Mitchell (with Henry Potter; both Trinity College Dublin),
- Stephen Mumford (Durham University),
- Helen Steward (University of Leeds),
- Peter U. Tse (Dartmouth College).
When?
June 11, 2025 - June 12, 2025
To attend in person, please register free of charge by 2nd June 2025 via
Where?
This event is available both online and in-person.
- In-person venue: Austrian Academy of Sciences. Johannessaal Dr. Ignaz Seipel Platz 2 Vienna 1010 Austria.
- Online: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/veranstaltungen/live
More details at https://philevents.org/event/show/135653
