"Freedom Evolves--a Dangerous Idea"

Professor Daniel C. Dennett delivered the lecture "Freedom Evolves--a Dangerous Idea," at Indiana University Bloomington on March 7, 2006. At Tufts University Dr. Dennett is a professor of Philosophy and director of the Center for Cognitive Studies. Professor Dennett has authored more than ten books including Freedom Evolves and Darwin's Dangerous Idea.

The Patten Foundation presents lectures as a way to enrich the intellectual life of the IU campus. The lecture was recorded by Media Productions--Instructional Support Services at IUB. The audio stream was produced by the IU Division of Broadcast and Electronic Media.

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• Dilbert cartoon
  Problem of free will
  Evolutionary theory is the key to understanding the phenomenon of freedom "How can we be freer than our parts?"
  Meaning of parts
  Common belief that determinism is incompatible with free will
  
• Evolution of evitability Definitions and images of determinism
  
• Example of producing expectations
  Securable future
  
• Simple example of avoiding
  Incomplete information
  Chess-playing computer as a simple deterministic avoider Learning about prowess and power
  Differences in computer program design
  
• Analyzing competence
  J. L. Austin on the word CAN
  
• Role of time pressure
  Illusion that the real flavors of free will are missing Austin's mistake "We always care about what is true in all or most of a set of possible worlds that are all slightly different."
  
• Explosive evolution of evitability
  Tree of life
  Skyhooks
  "cascade of cranes"
  Fruits of the tree of life
  "We have taken over the planet."
  Rebuttal of reviewer
  Concluding comments on free will