Free Will and Choice

While writing my short novel The Theory of Anything, I wanted some concrete examples to illustrate the effects of chance and randomness featured in that story. My research led me to three chance events that shaped history (click here to download The Theory of Anything and learn more about the wrong turn that started World War I, the horseriding accident … Read more

In a brief video on the website Big Think, philosopher Daniel Dennett accuses neuroscientists of corrupting the public by telling people they don’t have free will. Rather than addressing the question of whether or not free will exists, Dennett questions whether or not people are better off believing in free will, regardless of the accuracy of this belief. However, the … Read more

Dr. Jingguang Li is an Associate Professor in the College of Psychology at Dali University in Yunnan, China. His current research focuses on individual differences in self-control, impulsivity, grit and belief in free will and their relation to success and well-being. He is the co-author of two recent papers on how belief in free will affects different aspects of a … Read more

The Prisoner’s Dilemma Two members of a criminal gang, Simon and Peter, are arrested under suspicion of committing an armed robbery. The police do not have sufficient evidence to charge either one with the robbery. Instead, they interrogate both suspects individually and offer each the following bargain, hoping one will incriminate the other. If Simon and Peter both incriminate each other, each of … Read more