Hello and welcome to Entangled! The podcast where we explore the science of consciousness, the true nature of reality, and what it means to be a spiritual being having a human experience. I’m your host Jordan Youkilis, and today I’m joined by David Lawrence, author of Are We Really Biochemical Robots?

In this episode, we discuss how David’s conflicting perspectives with Sam Harris’s book Free Will led to his own writing journey. David describes the four prongs of free will and the relationship between determinism and pattern recognition. We next discuss how the possibility of past lives, life after death, and the hard problem of consciousness factor into the deterministic argument.

We discuss the possibility of God, the credibility of astrology, and how quantum entanglement could be related to astrology. From there we lament the inertia of scientific consensus and discuss the connection between free will and morality. Next, we speculate on Sam Harris’s integrity and whether other influences could be impacting his perspectives on determinism. Then, we discuss David’s future writings and the nature of the self. We end the conversation considering archetypes and the distinction between influence and causation. This Outro is titled Free Will, Determinism, & Natural Law. Outros available for this and all episodes at entangledpodcast.substack.com. Music from the show available on the Spotify playlist “Entangled – The Vibes”. Please enjoy!

Music: Intro: Ben Fox - "The Vibe". End Credits: FASSounds – “Natural Forces”.

Recorded: 04/27/23. Published: 06/05/23.

Outro: Free Will, Determinism & Natural Law (starts at 52:17).

Check out the resources discussed:

* Are We Really Biochemical Robots? by David Lawrence: https://www.amazon.com/Are-Really-Biochemical-Robots-Determinism-ebook/dp/B0BWLMBQM9/

* David’s website:

https://www.biochemicalrobots.com/

* Free Will by Sam Harris: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13259270-free-will-deckle-edge?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=a1kJQts7x8&rank=1

* The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values by Sam Harris: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21797603-the-moral-landscape

* One Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Organized Crime That Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein, Vol. 2 by Whitney Webb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61955761-one-nation-under-blackmail?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=aoHf6Nyk76&rank=2

* “Unlimited Hangout” by Whitney Webb:

https://unlimitedhangout.com/

* Edge Foundation: www.edge.org

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