Brain Science Podcast #62: Warren Brown on “Did my neurons make me do it?”

Great discussion - neuropsychology is going to have an increasing impact on the judicial system in the coming years. How do we balance that with our feelings about free will and personal responsibility?

BSP-62: Warren Brown on “Did my neurons make me do it?”

Posted on October 9th, 2009 by Ginger Campbell, MD

Warren Brown and Nancey Murphy

Episode 62 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Warren Brown, PhD, co-author (with Nancey Murphy) of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will. This book was discussed in detail back in Episode 53, but this interview gave me a chance to discuss some of the book’s key ideas with Dr. Brown. We focused on why a non-reductive approach is needed in order to formulate ideas about moral responsibility that are consistent with our current neurobiological understanding of the mind.

Listen to Episode 62 [Play]

Episode Transcript (Coming Soon)

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Additional Links and References:

• Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will by Nancey Murphy and Warren S. Brown
• Episode 53 of the Brain Science Podcast: a detailed discussion of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?
• Tom Clark’s review of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?
• Episode 30 of Books and Ideas: Dr. Campbell interviews Tom Clark about Naturalism and Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?
• “Neuroscience and the Soul,” letter in Science 2/27/09 Vol. 323, page 1168 (available on-line to AAAS members)

Tags: Brain Science Podcast, #62, Warren Brown, Did my neurons make me do it?, Psychology, brain, Philosophy, neuroscience, free will, Ginger Campbell