In his final lecture, Professor Dupré turns to the human individual. If, as argued in the first lecture, humans are open-ended processes, does this offer a solution to the age-old problem of free will? Professor Dupré argues that, with important qualifications, it does. The most important qualification is that while humans do indeed have powers to make a difference in the world, these powers do not derive solely from their intrinsic natures, but equally from their social embedding. So the conception of free will defended offers little support to the individualism that has dominated so much recent political thought. Rather, it can help to point us towards recognition of a proper blend of the powers of individuals with their responsibilities to the social order from which their powers substantially derive.

Find out more about future Gifford Lectures by visiting https://www.ed.ac.uk/arts-humanities-...