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Free Will Explored

Laurie Taylor considers the degree to which people make free choices, plus a look at kinship across the species barrier as pets become part of a family.

Free will explored. Laurie Taylor talks to Julian Baggini, writer and Founding Editor of The Philosophers' Magazine, about his latest work which considers the concept of freedom. He argues against the idea that free will is an illusion due to a combination of genes, environment and personal history. Instead he posits a sliding scale of freedom which allows for the possibility of individual agency and responsibility. Also, pets as family: Nickie Charles, Professor and Director of the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender at Warwick University, discusses her study of kinship across the species barrier.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.

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28 minutes

Nickie Charles

Professor and Director of the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender at Warwick University.

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N. Charles (2014) '"Animals just love you the way you are": experiencing kinship across the species barrier' in Sociology 48 (4) 715-730.

Julian Baggini

Author and Founding Editor of The Philosopher's Magazine

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Freedom Regained: The Possibility of Free Will
Publisher: Granta Books
ISBN-10: 1847087175
ISBN-13: 978-184708171

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  • Wed 8 Apr 2015 16:00
  • Mon 13 Apr 2015 00:15

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