It’s a common statement among certain atheists, and certain kinds of philosophers, that we are all meat-machines: that everything we do is based on the atoms of our bodies moving according to deterministic laws. Hence we have no free will; and even human consciousness is an illusion.

That’s right. I, who have freely chosen to write this blog post and am aware of doing so, my sense of self is an illusion thrown off in some way by the activities of my fleshly brain. You, who have freely chosen to read this blog post, and who seem to think that you’re aware of doing so, your self-awareness is an illusion as well.

It’s really hard to argue with folks who can believe anything so obviously self-refuting, and I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I was exaggerating. Alas, I’m not; but Mike Flynn has a detailed explanation of both why the anti-free-will types are wrong and what free will really is. And he does so with such clarity and élan that you really should go take a look.

(One of the reasons I’ve not been blogging as much is because this is the kind of thing I’ve been spending my time studying—and I’m not at all sure I’m equal to the task of making it interesting. Mike Flynn, however, most definitely is.)