We tend to take it for granted that conscious thoughts precede our actions. However, the US scientist Benjamin Libet’s groundbreaking 1980s experiments on the relationship between brain activity, conscious thoughts and physical actions caused some scientists and philosophers to rethink the concept of ‘free will’ and ask whether our decisions are made subconsciously before we’re even aware of them.
videoHistory
In the face of denial, this film uncovers the hidden scars of Indonesia’s 1998 riots
21 minutes
videoPhilosophy of mind
‘Am I not at least something?’ A surreal dive into Descartes’s Meditations
3 minutes
videoSocial psychology
What happened when a crypto scam swept over a sleepy town in the Caucasus
18 minutes
videoVirtues and vices
Why Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith were divided on the virtues of vanity
5 minutes
videoBioethics
What a 1970 experiment reveals about the possibility and perils of ‘head transplants’
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videoChildhood and adolescence
The police camp where tween girls enter a sisterhood of law and order
28 minutes
videoNeuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes
videoNeuroscience
Dog vision is a trendy topic, but what can we really know about how they see?
11 minutes
videoAnthropology
Why are witchcraft accusations so common across human societies?
4 minutes