Venue: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Johannessaal, Dr. Ignaz Seipel
Platz 2, 1010 Vienna, Austria, and online
Organiser: Dr. Anne Sophie Meincke (University of Vienna & Young Academy
of the Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Description:
In everyday life, we naturally assume that it is up to us how we act,
and that we are therefore responsible for our actions. However, free
will in this strong, ‘libertarian’ sense – involving a choice between
alternatives – is increasingly being questioned by philosophers and
scientists. While traditional concerns were predicated on the
deterministic laws of classical physics, today sceptics also cite
biology and neuroscience. We are told that our genes or our brains, not
we, decide what we want and how we act.
This conference gathers leading experts in philosophy, biology and
neuroscience who argue the opposite. Cutting-edge research into the
biological and neural basis of human and animal agency challenges
deterministic assumptions, adding to doubts from quantum physics and
pointing to non-reductionist views of agency and action causation. At
the same time, recent advances in the philosophy of biology and
metaphysics offer new conceptual resources for understanding agency and
free will under indeterminism. The conference explores the resulting
prospects for a scientifically grounded, ontologically robust concept of
‘libertarian’ free will, breaking new ground in interdisciplinary
research on free will.
Invited Speakers:
Björn Brembs (University of Regensburg), John Dupré (University of
Exeter), Geert Keil (Humboldt University of Berlin), Christian List (LMU
Munich), Anne Sophie Meincke (University of Vienna), Alfred R. Mele
(Florida State University), Kevin Mitchell (with Henry Potter; both
Trinity College Dublin), Stephen Mumford (Durham University), Helen
Steward (University of Leeds), Peter U. Tse (Dartmouth College).
Concluding Reflections:
Johannes Jaeger (University of Vienna), Josef Quitterer (University of
Innsbruck)
More details (including the conference programme) are to be found at
To attend in person, please register free of charge by 2nd June 2025 at
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/veranstaltungen/anmeldung/free-will-new-perspectives-from-philosophy-biology-and-neuroscience.
Or follow the event via live stream at
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/veranstaltungen/live.
This conference is associated with the Elise Richter-research project
“Bio-Agency and Natural Freedom”, led by Dr. Anne Sophie Meincke and
funded by the Austrian Science Fund (grant DOI 10.55776/V714). It will
be preceded by a Young Academy Distinguished Lecture by Alfred R. Mele
(Florida State University) and Anne Sophie Meincke (University of Vienna
& Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences) on the question
“Can Biology Help Us Defend Free Will?” on 10th June 2025 at the
Austrian Academy of Sciences, see
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/junge-akademie/jours-fixes/1/news-details/young-academy-distinguished-lecture-can-biology-help-us-defend-free-will.