Do we have free will – and do we want it? Thomas the Tank Engine offers clues

By Matyáš Moravec, Gifford Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy, University of St Andrews

Are we free or are our actions determined by the laws of physics? And how much free will do we actually want? These questions have troubled philosophers for millennia – and there are still no perfect answers.

But it turns out that a character from a children’s TV series can provide a clue. Thomas the Tank Engine, despite being a locomotive, behaves like a human. He makes decisions and choices. And he is morally responsible: when he does something…

Read complete article

~	Australia will trial ‘age assurance’ tech to bar children from online porn. What is it and will it work?

~	How much time should you spend sitting versus standing? New research reveals the perfect mix for optimal health

~	Great white sharks off South Africa’s coast are protected by law, but not in practice. Why this needs to change

~	Will Solomon Islands’ new leader stay close to China?

~	Ukraine: Russian Forces Executed Surrendering Ukraine Soldiers

~	Kenya: Floods Threaten Marginalized People

~	Resounding Support for a ‘Killer Robots’ Treaty

~	Global: A Web of Surveillance – Unravelling a murky network of spyware exports to Indonesia

~	A clock in the rocks: what cosmic rays tell us about Earth’s changing surface and climate

~	Aggressive? Homophobic? Stoic? Here’s what thousands of Australian men told us about modern masculinity