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...of a show for Netflix]
It is October 31, 2017, and I receive an email out of the blue. It is from a Netflix producer who invites me to participate in a new series. The series is about magic, and it stars a famous magician, whom I will call Jason. This episode of the show is about free will, and they want a philosopher’s position on the matter. I refer them to my university colleague and friend Daniel Speak, who has written extensively about free will. But Dan declines, and so the producer comes back asking me again if I would help them. They say they are in a pickle to find someone at the last minute. So, I agree.
But I have to confess I am a bit suspicious. Are they setting me up? I could write the script myself. Here comes the bumbling professor of philosophy whose views are definitively refuted by the savvy magician.
The next morning, I arrive at Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey, California. I find the film crew, and I’m asked to sign papers giving my authorization for filming. The director and I sit down at a park table. He opens a large manila envelope and hands me the authorization form. I start to sign. But then I look at the envelope across from me containing the papers. I can make out a heading upside down. It reads: “Free Will Is an Illusion.” Bingo. My fears are confirmed. I am being set up to be a stooge in an effort to discredit free will.
What should I do? Part of me wants to leave the situation and not participate. Part of me is curious and wonders whether this is an opportunity. I put my signature on the release form having no idea what I am going to do and how this will turn out.
Continued below.
Magical Thinking: Free Will Is an Illusion - Word on Fire
It is October 31, 2017, and I receive an email out of the blue. It is from a Netflix producer who invites me to participate in a new series. The series is about magic, and it stars a famous magician, whom I will call Jason. This episode of the show is about free will, and they want a philosopher’s position on the matter. I refer them to my university colleague and friend Daniel Speak, who has written extensively about free will. But Dan declines, and so the producer comes back asking me again if I would help them. They say they are in a pickle to find someone at the last minute. So, I agree.
But I have to confess I am a bit suspicious. Are they setting me up? I could write the script myself. Here comes the bumbling professor of philosophy whose views are definitively refuted by the savvy magician.
The next morning, I arrive at Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey, California. I find the film crew, and I’m asked to sign papers giving my authorization for filming. The director and I sit down at a park table. He opens a large manila envelope and hands me the authorization form. I start to sign. But then I look at the envelope across from me containing the papers. I can make out a heading upside down. It reads: “Free Will Is an Illusion.” Bingo. My fears are confirmed. I am being set up to be a stooge in an effort to discredit free will.
What should I do? Part of me wants to leave the situation and not participate. Part of me is curious and wonders whether this is an opportunity. I put my signature on the release form having no idea what I am going to do and how this will turn out.
Continued below.
Magical Thinking: Free Will Is an Illusion - Word on Fire
