Free Will, Romance and Religion, and More
Q&A Radio: 13 January 2013
I answered questions on free will and natural law, romance between an atheist and a believer, bringing children into a statist world, and more on 13 January 2013. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers was my co-host. Listen to or download this episode of Philosophy in Action Radio below.
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My News of the Week: I've been SnowCon 2013 and working on the publication of my dssertation. Also, last night I discovered that an awesome picture of me and my shotgun appears in this CNN photoessay (#11).
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Segments: 13 January 2013
Question 1: Free Will and Natural Law
Question: Is free will merely an illusion? While I dislike the idea that we're just puppets of physics and natural law, I wonder whether our seemingly "free" decisions are actually determined by the combination of our biology and our environment. After all, if our brain is merely a physical and chemical system, how could any any decisions be made freely? Wouldn't that violate natural law? In essence, how can our knowledge that the physical universe is deterministic be reconciled with our subjective feeling that we choose our actions?
Answer, In Brief: The evidence for free will is overwhelming, and the attempts to deny that are not scientific but rather based on a dogmatic adherence to reductionistic materialism.
Tags: Causality, Free Will, Introspection, Materialism, Metaphysics, Science
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Question 2: Romance Between an Atheist and a Believer
Question: Can a romance between an atheist and a religious believer work? What are the major obstacles? Should the atheist attend church or church socials with his spouse? Should they have a religious wedding ceremony? Should they send their children to religious schools? Do the particular beliefs – or strength of beliefs – of the religious person matter?
Answer, In Brief: Religion is a fundamental motivator of values, and so romance between an atheist and a religious believer is possible, but fraught with danger.
Tags: Atheism, Character, Children, Compromise, Ethics, Honesty, Integrity, Marriage, Relationships, Religion, Romance
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Question 3: Bringing Children into a Statist World
Question: Is it wrong to have children in an increasingly irrational and statist culture? People should think about the long-range effects of their actions, and act based on principles. So if a person thinks that our culture is in decline – and perhaps even slipping into dictatorship – is it wrong for that person to have children? Is such an assessment accurate? Along similar lines, were people wrong to have children in the Soviet Union and other dictatorships?
Answer, In Brief: If you don't want to have children, that's fine, but don't use the ridiculous dogma of secular apocalypticism to justify that decision. Life, particularly for children, is better than ever before.
Tags: Apocalypticism, Children, Culture, Parenting, Politics
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Rapid Fire Questions (1:00:41)
- Imagine that you were to be able to trace every event in a person's life back to infancy, such that you would be able to predict all their decisions based on their past experiences? What would the technical term for that be?
- If pedophiles cannot change their sexuality, then is it wrong to simply attempt to suppress that?
- Is it rational to refrain from flying because you object to the policies and actions of the TSA, even though you'd quite enjoy taking a vacation abroad with friends?
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Conclusion (1:06:29)
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About Philosophy in Action
I'm Dr. Diana Brickell. I'm a philosopher specializing in the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. I received my Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. My book, Responsibility & Luck: A Defense of Praise and Blame, is available for purchase in paperback and Kindle. The book defends the justice of moral praise and blame of persons using an Aristotelian theory of moral responsibility, thereby refuting Thomas Nagel's "problem of moral luck."
My radio show, Philosophy in Action Radio, broadcasts live over the internet on most Sunday mornings and some Thursday evenings. On Sunday mornings, I answer questions applying rational principles to the challenges of real life in a live hour-long show. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers co-hosts the show. On Thursday evenings, I interview an expert guest or discuss a topic of interest.
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