(I) In the 20th century, the new science of psychology
seemed to challenge the idea of free will. (II) However,
brain scanners and our ability to interpret them are
extremely useful. (III) Freud’s theory of unconscious
drives suggested that the causes of some of our actions
are not what we think they are. (IV) And then along
came neuroscience, which is often thought to diminish
the importance of free will even more. (V) The more we
find out about the workings of the brain, the less room
there seems to be in it for any kind of autonomous,
rational self.