Do human beings truly make free choices? If our decisions and actions result from the interaction of genes, the brain, the environment, and life experiences, to what extent can individuals be held morally and criminally responsible? How do findings from neuroscience affect our understanding of responsibility, punishment, and justice?
The first international seminar and webinar on “Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Criminal Justice” offers an opportunity to explore these questions through the perspectives of philosophy, neuroscience, and law. The event will examine different views on free will, determinism, compatibilism, moral responsibility, punishment, crime prevention, and rehabilitation. It adopts a scientific, interdisciplinary, and pluralistic approach without advocating a predetermined position.
International speakers include Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University, Peter U. Tse of Dartmouth College, Gregg Caruso of Fairfield University, and Thomas Nadelhoffer of the College of Charleston. Iranian speakers include Omid Keshmiri, Sepideh Tabatabaei, Voria Amiri, Hossein Ghazizadeh, Elnaz Ahmadi Larijani, Arian Petfat, Pouria Azadi, Hadi Samadi, and Mehdi Shafa.
Talks by the international scholars will be prerecorded, delivered in English, and accompanied by Persian subtitles. Live question-and-answer sessions with some of these scholars will also be available.
The event is intended for people interested in philosophy, ethics, criminal law, neuroscience, psychology, and interdisciplinary research. It offers an opportunity to engage with contemporary arguments and research on free will and their implications for individual responsibility and the criminal justice system.
The seminar will take place on Thursday and Friday, November 12 and 13, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tehran time. Participants may attend in person at Khaneh Doostan Ashena in Tehran or online via Google Meet. The online access link will be sent after registration.
Registration and payment are required. The fee is 750,000 tomans for participants in Iran, whether attending in person or online, and US$10 for participants outside Iran. Students receive a 20% discount. All participants, both in person and online, will receive an official certificate issued by Khaneh Doostan Ashena Institute.
To register, send the word “Eradeh” (“Will”) to the Telegram account @Khaneashena or call 0921 301 9019. In-person capacity is limited.
· Tehran
No. 11, Taban Alley, South Mossadegh Street, Mirdamad, Tehran, Iran