The Marionette’s Lament : A Response to Daniel Dennett by Sam Harris

The Marionette’s Lament : A Response to Daniel Dennett
by Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author

The sense of free will is an artefact of the immensely complex decision-making machine (a la Skynet becomes self-aware) that we have evolved. Evolution favoured constant and careful simulation of options before every action - giving a "sense" of free will. Similarly, evolution favoured brains that were more committed to actions - machines that hold an unshakeable (aka irrational) belief that their existence has "meaning".