Re @wiringthebrain.bsky.social and Henry Potter's defense of libertarian free will, I argue that indeterminism and an open future can't make agents more responsible than they are under determinism. Otherwise I like their view of agency. philpapers.org/rec/CLATDO-31
Thomas W. Clark, The Disutility of Indeterminism: Commentary on Potter and Mitchell - PhilPapers
In “Chance, Choice, and Control: Free Will in an Indeterministic Universe,” Henry Potter and Kevin Mitchell defend libertarian free will against the charge that indeterminism would undermine, not enha...
philpapers.org
October 8, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Re @wiringthebrain.bsky.social and Henry Potter's defense of libertarian free will, I argue that indeterminism and an open future can't make agents more responsible than they are under determinism. Otherwise I like their view of agency. philpapers.org/rec/CLATDO-31
The Good Determinist - Taking a cause-and-effect view of ourselves can lessen retributive blame premised on the illusion of libertarian agency, leading to more humane and practically effective responsibility practices, but without excusing wrong-doing.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
The Mitigation Response
Accepting determinism can keep reactivity in check
substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 3:02 PM
The Good Determinist - Taking a cause-and-effect view of ourselves can lessen retributive blame premised on the illusion of libertarian agency, leading to more humane and practically effective responsibility practices, but without excusing wrong-doing.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social
Up your alley: this book by Nancey Murphy and Warren Brown - "Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? - is similar to your approach to downward causation and responsible agency but without any appeal to causal slack:
naturalism.org/resources/bo...
Up your alley: this book by Nancey Murphy and Warren Brown - "Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? - is similar to your approach to downward causation and responsible agency but without any appeal to causal slack:
naturalism.org/resources/bo...
Causal Powers of the Natural Mind | Naturalism.org
naturalism.org
July 16, 2025 at 9:19 PM
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social
Up your alley: this book by Nancey Murphy and Warren Brown - "Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? - is similar to your approach to downward causation and responsible agency but without any appeal to causal slack:
naturalism.org/resources/bo...
Up your alley: this book by Nancey Murphy and Warren Brown - "Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? - is similar to your approach to downward causation and responsible agency but without any appeal to causal slack:
naturalism.org/resources/bo...
It's fine to collaborate with AIs on a publication so long as you give them due credit.
twc3.substack.com/p/ai-and-aut...
twc3.substack.com/p/ai-and-aut...
AI and Authorship
Be transparent about your use of AI
twc3.substack.com
July 7, 2025 at 1:57 PM
It's fine to collaborate with AIs on a publication so long as you give them due credit.
twc3.substack.com/p/ai-and-aut...
twc3.substack.com/p/ai-and-aut...
So when you have a thought in your native language, is it more like speaking it or hearing it?
June 28, 2025 at 9:20 PM
So when you have a thought in your native language, is it more like speaking it or hearing it?
Reality monitoring associated with phenomenal consciousness is clearly functional, but what function does phenomenality itself serve? If it's identical to functions, no causal power added, if not identical, no causal story on offer. Hmmm... @matthiasmichel.bsky.social @smfleming.bsky.social
Very happy to announce that our paper “Sensory Horizons and the Functions of Conscious Vision” is now out as a target article in BBS!! @smfleming.bsky.social and I present a new theory of the evolution and functions of visual consciousness. Article here: doi.org/10.1017/S014.... A (long) thread 🧵
Sensory Horizons and the Functions of Conscious Vision | Behavioral and Brain Sciences | Cambridge Core
Sensory Horizons and the Functions of Conscious Vision
doi.org
May 30, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reality monitoring associated with phenomenal consciousness is clearly functional, but what function does phenomenality itself serve? If it's identical to functions, no causal power added, if not identical, no causal story on offer. Hmmm... @matthiasmichel.bsky.social @smfleming.bsky.social
The billionaires could be oligarchic but benevolent (e.g., Bill Gates), so the wholesale gutting of American science, culture, rule of law, social safety net, etc., etc. can only be construed as intentionally punitive, aimed at undermining our collective flourishing under democracy.
May 17, 2025 at 3:15 PM
The billionaires could be oligarchic but benevolent (e.g., Bill Gates), so the wholesale gutting of American science, culture, rule of law, social safety net, etc., etc. can only be construed as intentionally punitive, aimed at undermining our collective flourishing under democracy.
"Sapolsky, a Stanford University professor, is a hard determinist who rejects free will; Mitchell, an associate
professor of genetics and neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, is a compatibilist who embraces it."
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social a compatibilist?
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
professor of genetics and neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, is a compatibilist who embraces it."
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social a compatibilist?
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The Free Will: Determinism Debate in Contemporary Science and Society (Or: Why Are You Reading This Article?) - Perspectives on Behavior Science
The free will–determinism discussion is centuries old, with numerous stances taken by philosophers and scientists alike. The debate has clear implications for interpreting causal relations in scientif...
link.springer.com
May 2, 2025 at 5:07 PM
"Sapolsky, a Stanford University professor, is a hard determinist who rejects free will; Mitchell, an associate
professor of genetics and neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, is a compatibilist who embraces it."
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social a compatibilist?
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
professor of genetics and neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, is a compatibilist who embraces it."
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social a compatibilist?
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Here "superagency" denotes the capacity for ultimate control over our behavior. We can’t step outside of ourselves to exert a level of control not already determined by who we are, but many, perhaps most folks think that we are such impossible superagents. twc3.substack.com/p/superagenc...
Superagency: Sources of the Libertarian Intuition
In which are suggested some causes of supposing we're not fully caused.
twc3.substack.com
May 1, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Here "superagency" denotes the capacity for ultimate control over our behavior. We can’t step outside of ourselves to exert a level of control not already determined by who we are, but many, perhaps most folks think that we are such impossible superagents. twc3.substack.com/p/superagenc...
Not hyperbole, this is happening in my hood. How about in yours?
If your local, state, and federal representatives aren't speaking out about this you must let them know that their silence makes them complicit.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/o...
If your local, state, and federal representatives aren't speaking out about this you must let them know that their silence makes them complicit.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/o...
Opinion | Unmarked Vans. Secret Lists. Public Denunciations. America’s Police State Has Arrived. (Gift Article)
Those of us who’ve seen secret police in action can’t shake a feeling of dreadful familiarity.
www.nytimes.com
April 2, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Not hyperbole, this is happening in my hood. How about in yours?
If your local, state, and federal representatives aren't speaking out about this you must let them know that their silence makes them complicit.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/o...
If your local, state, and federal representatives aren't speaking out about this you must let them know that their silence makes them complicit.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/o...
Kristen Welker of NBC news, 3/29, reported on a phone interview she had with Trump on his desire to annex Greenland.
Trump: "There's a good possibility it could be done without military force...but I don't take anything off the table."
Who will resist this nonsense?
Trump: "There's a good possibility it could be done without military force...but I don't take anything off the table."
Who will resist this nonsense?
March 29, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Kristen Welker of NBC news, 3/29, reported on a phone interview she had with Trump on his desire to annex Greenland.
Trump: "There's a good possibility it could be done without military force...but I don't take anything off the table."
Who will resist this nonsense?
Trump: "There's a good possibility it could be done without military force...but I don't take anything off the table."
Who will resist this nonsense?
Vance: "We do not think military force is ever going to be necessary. We think we're going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump style..."
Translation: plans for an invasion are being formulated if you don't like the deal.
Denmark, Greenlanders: stand your ground!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqn3...
Translation: plans for an invasion are being formulated if you don't like the deal.
Denmark, Greenlanders: stand your ground!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqn3...
Vance says Greenland would be better off under U.S.
YouTube video by NBC News
www.youtube.com
March 29, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Vance: "We do not think military force is ever going to be necessary. We think we're going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump style..."
Translation: plans for an invasion are being formulated if you don't like the deal.
Denmark, Greenlanders: stand your ground!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqn3...
Translation: plans for an invasion are being formulated if you don't like the deal.
Denmark, Greenlanders: stand your ground!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqn3...
The latest installment of The Good Determinist suggests we're pretty comfortable with supposing one thing causes another, put perhaps not quite all the way there...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
"Bound and Determined": The Ordinary Language of Determinism
Such talk suggests we are, for the most part, pragmatic determinists.
substack.com
March 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
The latest installment of The Good Determinist suggests we're pretty comfortable with supposing one thing causes another, put perhaps not quite all the way there...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Quick and dirty argument against phenomenal causation:
If the feel of pain is identical to its NCC, the feel per se doesn't add to their causal power.
If the feel *isn't* identical, there's no good story about how it adds causal power.
The feel is real, but not a causal contributor.
Questions?
If the feel of pain is identical to its NCC, the feel per se doesn't add to their causal power.
If the feel *isn't* identical, there's no good story about how it adds causal power.
The feel is real, but not a causal contributor.
Questions?
March 4, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Quick and dirty argument against phenomenal causation:
If the feel of pain is identical to its NCC, the feel per se doesn't add to their causal power.
If the feel *isn't* identical, there's no good story about how it adds causal power.
The feel is real, but not a causal contributor.
Questions?
If the feel of pain is identical to its NCC, the feel per se doesn't add to their causal power.
If the feel *isn't* identical, there's no good story about how it adds causal power.
The feel is real, but not a causal contributor.
Questions?
Bye bye, Amazon. As a friend of mine wrote me:
The Washington Post slogan was "Democracy dies in darkness." Turns out it also dies under the glare of chandeliers in oligarchs' mansions.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/b...
The Washington Post slogan was "Democracy dies in darkness." Turns out it also dies under the glare of chandeliers in oligarchs' mansions.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/b...
Jeff Bezos’ Directive for Washington Post Opinion Pages Leads to Editor David Shipley’s Exit
David Shipley, The Post’s opinion editor, is resigning after trying to persuade Jeff Bezos to reconsider the new direction.
www.nytimes.com
February 27, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Bye bye, Amazon. As a friend of mine wrote me:
The Washington Post slogan was "Democracy dies in darkness." Turns out it also dies under the glare of chandeliers in oligarchs' mansions.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/b...
The Washington Post slogan was "Democracy dies in darkness." Turns out it also dies under the glare of chandeliers in oligarchs' mansions.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/b...
Critical action to stop the coup!
February 17, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Critical action to stop the coup!
Walk it back, bro!
What's hilarious is how Trump's insane policy declarations, delivered from behind his desk in the Oval Office, get the whole world in a tizzy when it's obvious they issue from a man who simply blurts out his id.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
What's hilarious is how Trump's insane policy declarations, delivered from behind his desk in the Oval Office, get the whole world in a tizzy when it's obvious they issue from a man who simply blurts out his id.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
Trump Officials Try to Walk Back Gaza Takeover Plan: Live Updates
Amid global alarm, top administration officials sought to soften elements of President Trump’s proposal to force Palestinians out of the territory and take it over. Experts said the plan would violate...
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Walk it back, bro!
What's hilarious is how Trump's insane policy declarations, delivered from behind his desk in the Oval Office, get the whole world in a tizzy when it's obvious they issue from a man who simply blurts out his id.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
What's hilarious is how Trump's insane policy declarations, delivered from behind his desk in the Oval Office, get the whole world in a tizzy when it's obvious they issue from a man who simply blurts out his id.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02...
So it ends: “'If you are on the wrong side of the vote, you’re buying yourself a primary' and 'there’s a guy named Elon Musk who is going to finance it.' It’s not party over country. It’s a political career over everything else."
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/04/o...
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/04/o...
Republicans are complicit in the constitutional crises that Trump and Musk are unleashing - The Boston Globe
In a moment demanding courage, the GOP has only cowards.
www.bostonglobe.com
February 5, 2025 at 12:03 PM
So it ends: “'If you are on the wrong side of the vote, you’re buying yourself a primary' and 'there’s a guy named Elon Musk who is going to finance it.' It’s not party over country. It’s a political career over everything else."
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/04/o...
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/04/o...
You Can't Wait for Determinism to Happen
Part 2 of correcting misconceptions about determinism, in which we cover fatalism, rationality, excuses and accountability, novelty, reductionism, and authoritarianism. Be a good determinist!
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Part 2 of correcting misconceptions about determinism, in which we cover fatalism, rationality, excuses and accountability, novelty, reductionism, and authoritarianism. Be a good determinist!
substack.com/home/post/p-...
February 2, 2025 at 1:51 AM
You Can't Wait for Determinism to Happen
Part 2 of correcting misconceptions about determinism, in which we cover fatalism, rationality, excuses and accountability, novelty, reductionism, and authoritarianism. Be a good determinist!
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Part 2 of correcting misconceptions about determinism, in which we cover fatalism, rationality, excuses and accountability, novelty, reductionism, and authoritarianism. Be a good determinist!
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Here are some reassurances about determinism, wrongly perceived as the antithesis of agency. First of two parts, second in progress...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
January 20, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Here are some reassurances about determinism, wrongly perceived as the antithesis of agency. First of two parts, second in progress...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Pain as a subjective experience will never be observed as making a causal contribution to behavior since experiences are private affairs. So we can't take the behavior of AIs or hermit crabs as necessarily indicating the presence of pain. www.scientificamerican.com/article/coul...
A New Way to Test AI for Sentience: Make It Confront Pain
A new study shows that large language models make trade-offs to avoid pain, with possible implications for future AI welfare
www.scientificamerican.com
January 18, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Pain as a subjective experience will never be observed as making a causal contribution to behavior since experiences are private affairs. So we can't take the behavior of AIs or hermit crabs as necessarily indicating the presence of pain. www.scientificamerican.com/article/coul...
Physicalists in love:
Him: "Your molecular structure is really something fine, a first rate example of functional design." - Mose Allison
Her: "You can oxy-my-tocin any time!" (anonymous)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbkB...
Him: "Your molecular structure is really something fine, a first rate example of functional design." - Mose Allison
Her: "You can oxy-my-tocin any time!" (anonymous)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbkB...
Your Molecular Structure
YouTube video by Mose Allison - Topic
www.youtube.com
January 18, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Physicalists in love:
Him: "Your molecular structure is really something fine, a first rate example of functional design." - Mose Allison
Her: "You can oxy-my-tocin any time!" (anonymous)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbkB...
Him: "Your molecular structure is really something fine, a first rate example of functional design." - Mose Allison
Her: "You can oxy-my-tocin any time!" (anonymous)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbkB...
January 7, 2025 at 2:12 PM
I've commenced The Good Determinist on Substack to get feedback on pragmatic determinism. First installment: "Opening Gambit: Could You Have Done Otherwise?" Yes and no.
open.substack.com/pub/twc3/p/t...
open.substack.com/pub/twc3/p/t...
Inbox | Substack
open.substack.com
December 28, 2024 at 3:12 PM
I've commenced The Good Determinist on Substack to get feedback on pragmatic determinism. First installment: "Opening Gambit: Could You Have Done Otherwise?" Yes and no.
open.substack.com/pub/twc3/p/t...
open.substack.com/pub/twc3/p/t...