354 | Christian List on Free Will and Levels of Reality
From Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas by Sean Carroll
May 18, 2026 · 1h 27m · Episode 354
About this episode
Christian List discusses the compatibilist perspective on free will and the relationship between different levels of reality.
Did I have any freedom in choosing this particular podcast guest? At the level of particles, fields, and the fundamental laws of physics; no. At the level of human agents navigating the world, yes. Today's guest, Christian List, is a philosopher and political scientist who has arguably done the most to articulate the "compatibilist" perspective on free will, according to which the freedom of rational agents is entirely compatible with underlying mechanistic laws. The reconciliation depends on thinking carefully about emergence and the relationship between levels of reality. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code MINDSCAPE at this link and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/mindscape #sponsored Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/05/18/354-christian-list-on-free-will-and-levels-of-reality/ Support Mindscape on Patreon . Christian List received his D.Phil in Politics from Oxford University. He is currently Professor of Philosophy and Decision Theory and Co-Director of the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy at LMU Munich. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a member of Academia Europaea the Bavarian…
People in this episode
Host: Sean Carroll
Guest: Christian List
Topics covered
- free will
- philosophy
- compatibilism
- levels of reality
- emergence
- decision theory
Keywords
- free will
- compatibilism
- philosophy
- decision theory
- emergence
- Christian List
- Sean Carroll
Sponsors
Incogni
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: LMU Munich, British Academy, Academia Europaea, Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, American Philosophical Association
Products: Incogni
Books & works: Why Free Will Is Real, Group Agency
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