Despite mapping brains and building AI, science still can't explain why we have subjective experiences—the hard problem of consciousness. This gap between neural activity and felt experience shapes everything from medical ethics to AI rights.
Neuroscience reveals that brain activity begins 300-500 milliseconds before conscious decisions, with modern fMRI predicting choices up to 10 seconds in advance. While hard determinists argue free will is an illusion shaped by biology and environment, compatibilists redefine freedom as acting according to internal desires without coercion. Research shows belief in free will improves motivation and moral behavior, yet understanding determinism can increase compassion. The debate has profound i...
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