Episode 8: The Manipulation Argument with Derk Pereboom Artwork

The Free Will Show

Do any of us really have free will? What does it mean to have free will, anyway? Is free will compatible with determinism? Hasn’t science disproved free will? How could we have free will if God exists and foreknows everything that we will ever do? The Free Will Show provides a beginner-friendly introduction to the topic of free will while at the same time exposing listeners to cutting-edge developments on the topic. Hosted by a couple of philosophers, Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer, The Free Will Show features interviews with guests on a diverse array of issues relating to free will, including issues in science and theology. thefreewillshow.com

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The Free Will Show

Episode 8: The Manipulation Argument with Derk Pereboom

October 26, 2020 • Taylor Cyr and Matt Flummer • Season 1 • Episode 8

In this episode, Derk Pereboom explains the manipulation argument—an argument that aims at showing that determinism and free will are incompatible. After walking us through his widely discussed “Four-Case Argument,” Derk summarizes Alfred Mele’s “Zygote Argument” and responds to a variety of objections to manipulation arguments.

Derk’s website:

http://derk-pereboom.net/

Derk’s Books:

Free Will, Agency, and Meaning in Life: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/free-will-agency-and-meaning-in-life-9780198776864?cc=ca&lang=en&#

Four Views on Free Will: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Four+Views+on+Free+Will-p-9781405134866

Others mentioned in the episode:

Mele’s Zygote Argument can be found in chapter 7 of Free Will and Luck: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/free-will-and-luck-9780195374391?cc=us&lang=en&

McKenna’s Hard-Line Reply: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1933-1592.2008.00179.x