Freedom & Cognition. Another Way is Possible

The question of the relationship between freedom and determinism has been one of the most debated topics in philosophy since antiquity. In recent decades, investigations in the sciences of cognition and neurosciences have greatly revived the debate on free will by studying, for example, decision-making, volition, the feeling of agency or even metacognition. These studies have generated important exchanges between philosophers and scientists and this 75th issue of Intellectica is a continuation of these exchanges.

Contributions to the issue come from both philosophers and neuroscientists. They offer a wide variety of positions on freedom and responsibility, the societal issues that this generates, and give rise to a number of avenues for discussion with cognitive sciences. One of the important questions raised in this issue is whether the knowledge brought to us today by cognitive science research can help us increase our freedom. This issue is also an opportunity to take stock of the current state of philosophical debates on free will. Finally, this issue is also an opportunity to shed light on the Spinozist notion of free necessity, and to compare it in more detail with the literature on free will and with knowledge resulting from work in the field of cognitive sciences.