What If Free Will Is An Illusion?

The Humanist Group will meet 01/02/2024 7:30 PM

Robert Sapolsky
Robert Sapolsky

Both the current First Principle and the proposed Article II value of Equity call for UU’s to recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This can be hard when we judge a person as responsible for behaviors that have negative impacts on other people, or even themselves. What if people have far less agency and free will than conventional wisdom suggests?

Robert Sapolsky is a prominent neuroendocrinology researcher and primatologist at Stanford University. In this all Zoom program, we will view and discuss excerpts of an interview of Sapolsky by cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman where the interviewer will challenge Sapolsky on his arguments against free will while also exploring their implications.

Send an email to HumanistGroup@first-unitarin-pgh.org to get the link.