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Show notes
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"]( https://www.google.com/url?q=https://incogni.com/mindscape&source=gmail&ust=1770414240358000&usg=AOvVaw0\_MUN5HaTNpdIVHrb8rI9Z">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 [https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll"]( 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">https://www.mcmp.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/index.html">Munich]( https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674979581">_Why Free Will Is Real_ and (with Philip Pettit) Group">https://global.oup.com/academic/product/group-agency-9780199679676?lang=en&cc=gb">_Group Agency_. - [Web">https://list.userweb.mwn.de/">Web]( https://www.philosophie.lmu.de/en/directory-of-persons/contact-page/christian-list-087028b0.html">]( https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=b6mn5-gAAAAJ&hl=en">Google]( https://www.amazon.com/stores/Christian-List/author/B004BU9R7C">Amazon]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian\_List">Wikipedia