Free Will

Jul 22, 2019 · 27m 38s
Free Will
Description

What is the relationship between free will and religion? Historically, theistic religions have been dogged by questions concerning the nature of human agency. Do we make the choices we have...

show more
What is the relationship between free will and religion? Historically, theistic religions have been dogged by questions concerning the nature of human agency. Do we make the choices we have in life because we can freely choose or does God somehow map life for us? If we don’t have free will how can we be held responsible for our actions in this life and the next? A belief in free will is central to the religious concept of "sin". Our criminal justice system rests on it. Yet developments in neuroscience suggest free will could be an illusion – that you can reduce human behaviour to the firing of neurons in the brain. But how can we live a moral life if we don’t have free will?

Joining Ernie Rea to discuss belief in free will are Rev Sharon Grenham-Thompson, an Anglican minister and former prison chaplain; Professor Rasjid Skinner a consultant clinical psychologist and Dr Richard Christian, Research Associate in Philosophy and Economics at the University of Manchester.

Producer:
Catherine Earlam

Series Producer:
Amanda Hancox
show less
Information
Author BBC
Organization BBC
Website -
Tags
-

Looks like you don't have any active episode

Browse Spreaker Catalogue to discover great new content

Current

Podcast Cover

Looks like you don't have any episodes in your queue

Browse Spreaker Catalogue to discover great new content

Next Up

Episode Cover Episode Cover

It's so quiet here...

Time to discover new episodes!

Discover
Your Library
Search