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Our Place in the Universe

George Ellis

Does physics allow free will? Templeton Prize-winning cosmologist George Ellis presents his account of what chance, necessity and purpose in the universe mean for agency.

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Instructor

George Ellis

George Ellis is a South African theoretical physicist who is considered to be a world leader in relativity and cosmology.

About the Course

Determinism - the idea that the causal nature of the laws of reality means that every event is pre-determined - is the most common criticism of the notion of free will. But what if determinism wasn't true? What if the current state of the universe could not have been predicted at a previous point of time, even with sufficient data and processing power? What if causation was not solely bottom up, and complex systems had genuine powers of causation? What if we had true powers of autonomy, unshackled by previous events or lower level structures of causality?

In this course, Templeton Prize-winning cosmologist George F. R. Ellis takes us through quantum physics, cosmology, computing, biology, and psychology to explain how we harnessed the forces of randomness and developed the unique power to consciously cause events in the universe.

By the end of the course, you will have learned:

What a photon multiplier is
How quantum events cause genetic mutations
How interlevel feedback loops allow high level phenomenological understanding
Why planes fly
How mental access to Platonic possibility spaces gives inputs to meaningful action
How the brain can access the timeless categorical structures of the universe
Why the Libet experiment proves nothing

As part of the course there are in-video quiz questions to consolidate your learning, and discussion boards to have your say.

IAI Academy courses are designed to be challenging but accessible to the interested student. No specialist knowledge is required.

About the Instructor

George Ellis

George Ellis is a South African theoretical physicist who is considered to be a world leader in relativity and cosmology. The book he co-wrote with Stephen Hawking, The Large Scale Structure of Space–Time, examined the general relativity theory that was first investigated by Einstein. He pioneered a study to classify anisotropic solutions of Einstein’s equations and formalised the analysis of observables in cosmology.

Cosmologist, mathematician, co-author, The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time

Course Syllabus

Part One: Playing Dice

From molecular biology to quantum physics, what are the effects of randomness in the universe?
Part Two: Emergent Complexity

How do physical laws underlie complexity? Ellis presents a bold proposal.
Part Three: Physics and Human Freedom

Ellis examines the implications of top-down causation for purpose, value and meaning.