Sartre and Neuroscience | free will, Libet experiment, readiness potential, determinism and compatibilism | Philosophy Unit | Grades 11–12

Sartre and Neuroscience is a complete philosophy unit for grades 11–12 on free will at different levels of explanation: a 32-page student book and a 20-page teacher guide with expected answers, timed lesson plans and marking guidance. Students separate determinism, predictability and coercion, examine the Libet paradigm and the readiness potential, work through the 2012 accumulator model by Schurger, Sitt and Dehaene, and then compare these findings systematically with Sartre’s account of responsibility. The title names a comparison of positions, not a historical debate between Sartre and later researchers.

It opens with a friend who accurately predicts your food order and a person who forces the order through threats: in both cases the order is known in advance, but in very different ways. Students then reconstruct a teaching timeline (signal onset at −550 ms, reported intention at −200 ms, movement at 0 ms, clearly marked as model values, not original data) and look for the extra premise needed to say “the decision was already made”. They sketch three fictional signal trajectories to see why an average is smoother than any single trial, and test whether “every decision has neural conditions” really leads to “responsibility is meaningless”.

What's Included

• 32-page student book (A4 PDF): four five-page sections, each with explanation, case material, workshop, judgment page and extension page
• Four original case materials (M1–M4): prediction versus coercion, a Libet-style teaching timeline, three fictional signal trajectories and three positions on neural conditions
• Concept page defining determinism, compatibilism, readiness potential and operationalization, with a relationship task
• Two practice assessments in the student book, each with an original source text, a task page (25/40/25/10 marks) and a writing plan, plus a jigsaw, a portfolio page and a self-check
• 20-page teacher guide (A4 PDF): aims, sequence planning, differentiation, a minute-by-minute plan for each 90-minute lesson and expected reasoning for every A, B and C task
• Feedback and exit-diagnosis pages for each section, and marking guidance for both practice assessments on a 100-point scheme
• Editable Word text edition (.docx) with its own pagination
• Sources and an AI production note on the final teacher page

Four 90-Minute Lessons + Assessment

1. 1 · Which freedom is under investigation — Student book pp. 3–7. Freedom of action, freedom of will, determinism and predictability. Students separate knowledge, causation and coercion in the food-order case, write one compatibilist and one incompatibilist question, and debate whether unpredictability is already freedom.
2. 2 · Examining the Libet paradigm — Pp. 8–12. Spontaneous movements, retrospective reports and the averaged readiness potential. Students draw the timeline, separate measurement, report and interpretation, and ask how far a finger movement can be generalized to a career decision.
3. 3 · An alternative accumulation account — Pp. 13–17. Schurger, Sitt and Dehaene’s 2012 model of fluctuations reaching a threshold. Students explain why an average is not the path of each trial, sketch three trajectories and debate whether an alternative explanation of data refutes determinism.
4. 4 · Comparing Sartre systematically — Pp. 18–22. Taking a stance toward possibilities versus preparatory brain processes. Students test whether position B follows from A, classify position C, and write a comparison with a shared question, two differences and an open issue.
5. Concepts, practice assessments and jigsaw — Pp. 23–32. Concept page, two timed practice assessments with writing plans, a jigsaw, a portfolio page and a self-check.

Students Will Learn To

• Distinguish freedom of action from freedom of will and determinism from predictability and coercion
• Describe the libet paradigm and separate measurement, subjective report and philosophical interpretation
• Explain how averaging aligned trials can produce a rising signal and why this changes the reading of the readiness potential
• Identify the extra premises needed to move from neural conditions to claims about responsibility
• Compare sartre’s account of responsible agency with neuroscientific findings without hostility to science or premature reductionism

Perfect For

• Grades 11–12 philosophy courses with a unit on free will and determinism
• Teachers who want to discuss the Libet experiment without overstating what it shows
• Interdisciplinary classes linking philosophy with psychology or biology
• Media literacy work on science headlines such as “Brain scan ends the debate”
• UK, Australian and IB classes: roughly maps to A Level Philosophy (Years 12–13), Years 11–12 senior secondary philosophy and IB Diploma Philosophy

Why Teachers Choose This Unit

• Every lesson is timed: opening (0–10 min), exploration (10–30), analysis (30–55), experiment (55–75) and consolidation (75–90), so you can see where a 45-minute break falls.
• Each analysis task has two support levels. Support 1 starts with two marked details linked to a concept; Support 2 asks students to test an alternative explanation. The guide adds vocabulary cards, sectioned readings and oral rehearsal for students who need them.
• Marking guidance splits 100 points into reconstruction 25, analysis and comparison 40, judgment 25 and communication 10, with sub-criteria such as 'serious objection and response 5'. No particular opinion is required for full marks.
• The unit is careful with evidence. Model values are labeled as such, the trajectories are fictional, and the expected answers keep findings and interpretations apart: the accumulator model changes how the signal is read but does not settle the metaphysical question either way.
• All cases and assessment texts were written for this unit, so students meet them fresh and you can mark responses against the expected reasoning in the guide.

Save with the bundle: this unit is part of the Existentialism Bundle — all four philosophy units for $49.90 instead of $99.96. All 24 upper-secondary units are in Upper Secondary Complete for $149.90.

Created with AI assistance: ChatGPT (OpenAI) and Claude (Anthropic). Illustrations were generated with OpenAI image generation as discussion prompts; they are not photographs. Edited for classroom use before publication. Sources and the full AI note are on the final teacher guide page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which courses and exams does this unit fit?

It is written for grades 11–12 philosophy and ethics electives working on free will, determinism and the philosophy of mind. It roughly maps to A Level Philosophy (Years 12–13) in the UK, Years 11–12 senior secondary philosophy courses in Australia and IB Diploma Philosophy. There is no official endorsement by College Board/AP, IB, any UK exam board, ACARA or a state. The unit was originally developed for German upper-secondary courses; the English edition is a full parallel version.

How long does it take?

The teacher guide plans four 90-minute core lessons covering student book pages 3–22, one per section. Workshop and extension tasks can need extra time. The jigsaw takes 45–60 minutes, and each practice assessment takes 90 minutes, or 135 for extended advanced-course work. The guide says plainly that four double lessons do not cover every activity in the pack, so you choose which extensions and assessments to add.

Does the unit use real Libet data or claim free will is disproved?

Neither. The timeline uses model values marked “not original data”, the signal trajectories are fictional, and the AI illustrations show no real measurements. Students learn that temporal order is a finding while its philosophical meaning is an interpretation. The accumulator model challenges reading signal onset as a decision time but proves neither metaphysical freedom nor the irrelevance of neural processes. The sources page lists Schurger et al. 2012 and 2021.

How is it delivered?

Instant digital download after checkout: the 32-page student book and the 20-page teacher guide as A4 PDFs, plus an editable Word text edition. The PDFs print on US Letter if you select fit-to-page in the print dialog. For graded use, the guide recommends handing out only the source material and tasks and keeping the teacher guide separate. Published primary texts, translations and third-party recordings are not included.