Speaker Series: Jenann Ismael (University of Arizona)

Jenann Ismael will present a Speaker Series talk.

 “Human Action Through the Lenses of Physics”

This is a big picture talk that discusses the question of how human action (and more specifically decision) fits into the kind of deterministic dynamical order that classical physics presents.

The discussion begins with the Consequence Argument. I introduce two intuitive requirements on human freedom:

(i) that decision plays a pivotal role in the production of behavior, and

(ii) that decisions come from us.

I show how classical mechanics allows decision to play a pivotal role in the production of behavior, and discuss whether – and in what sense – it is right to say that decision comes from us.