Neuroscience made you doubt your freedom
You read that the brain decides before you do and are not sure what that means.
Courses
See what you would learn
Work out whether your choices are really yours, and what follows if they are not.
A course on free will for the curious. It lays out the main positions, determinism, libertarian free will and compatibilism, and follows each through to what it would mean for blame, praise and the decisions you make today.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I am curious whether our choices are truly free. Introduce the main arguments about free will and help me think through what they imply for responsibility and everyday decisions.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
- Best for
- Philosophy
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- What prompts the question: science, religion, a moral puzzle, or curiosity?
- Do you currently feel free, determined, or unsure what the question means?
- Are you more interested in the metaphysics or the consequences for responsibility?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
Blame and punishment puzzle you
If nobody could have done otherwise, what are we doing when we blame?
You like hard questions
This one has no settled answer and you find that appealing.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06The problem
Why cause and effect seem to leave no room for choice.
Determinism
The case that everything, including decisions, follows from prior causes.
Libertarian free will
The case that genuine choice exists, and its difficulties.
Compatibilism
Freedom redefined as acting from your own reasons, and whether that is enough.
Responsibility
What blame, praise and punishment mean under each view.
Living with the question
Deciding how to act when the answer is uncertain.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Explain the main positions
State determinism, libertarianism and compatibilism clearly and fairly.
Follow the consequences
See what each view implies for responsibility and how we treat each other.
Hold a considered view
Arrive at a position you can defend, with its costs acknowledged.
Ideas this course corrects
Science has settled that free will is an illusion
Neuroscience has complicated the picture. The philosophical question remains open, and many scientists are compatibilists.
Without free will, nothing matters
Every major position preserves meaning and responsibility in some form. The disagreement is about what form.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on free will for the curious. It lays out the main positions, determinism, libertarian free will and compatibilism, and follows each through to what it would mean for blame, praise and the decisions you make today. It sits under Philosophy in the Ideas & discovery part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I am curious whether our choices are truly free. Introduce the main arguments about free will and help me think through what they imply for responsibility and everyday decisions.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.