For the World Science Festival newsletter‘s ‘Ask A Scientist’ feature, Charlie Parkinson asked:“Does the apparent randomness of quantum mechanics have any say in the reality of free will?” Luckily, we happen to have a quantum physics expert down the hall. Here’s the full response from World Science Festival co-founder and Columbia University physicist Brian Greene: Good question. Indeed, some have claimed that the randomness of quantum mechanics ends the free will debate, bringing the gavel firmly down on the side of freedom. I disagree. The quantum free will argument goes something like this: In a Newtonian world governed by the laws of classical physics, the state of the universe at one moment fully determines its state at any subsequent moment. Such strict determinism applies to everything, including the particles making up our bodies and brains, and so there’s simply no room for free will. Our moment-to-moment actions are dictated by the laws of physics. By contrast, in a quantum world the laws only predict the probability of things turning out one way or another. The probabilistic randomness of what will transpire, the argument goes, disrupts classical determinism and so restores a place for free will.... ~Kyle B worldsciencefestival/2014/12/quantum-free-will/
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 14:00:00 +0000
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