The clockwork universe: is free will an illusion?

A growing chorus of scientists and philosophers argue that free will does not exist. Could they be right, asks Oliver Burkeman

The astronomical clock at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul
Can there be free will in a universe where events crank forwards like clockwork?
(Image credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Towards the end of a conversation about some of the deepest puzzles of human existence, the philosopher Galen Strawson paused, then asked me: “Have you spoken to anyone else yet who’s received weird emails?” He began reading from messages he and several other scholars had received in recent years. Some were plaintive, others abusive, but all were fiercely accusatory. “Last year you all played a part in destroying my life,” one person wrote. “I lost everything because of you – my son, my partner, my job, my home, my mental health. All because of you, you told me I had no control, how I was not responsible for anything I do, how my beautiful six-year-old son was not responsible for what he did… Goodbye, and good luck with the rest of your cancerous, evil, pathetic existence.” “Rot in your own shit Galen,” read another note, sent in early 2015. And then, days later: “I’m coming for you.” “This was one where we had to involve the police,” Strawson said.

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