title: Architects of our own experience: The structure of human freedom

authors: Evans, Jay

subjects: Philosophy of freedom

abstract: The picture of a deterministic universe is difficult to reconcile with the phenomenology of agency, deliberation, and choice. While everyday conceptions of individual freedom and responsibility depend on the pre-theoretical assumption that we have meaningful control over our decisions and volitional actions, if determinism is true, the outcome of any deliberative process is always the only outcome available; the inevitable result of a reasoning sequence that could not have proceeded any other way. However compelling our ordinary sense of agency and control is, determinism gives us reason to doubt that we have the kind of freedom that we intuitively take ourselves to have.

The debate over whether free will is compatible with determinism is a long-running one, traditionally motivated by, and entangled in further disputes about what kind of freedom or control is required for moral responsibility. In a promising and refreshing turn, recent work by philosopher of physics, Jennan Ismael, has significantly advanced the debate. Leaving aside questions about moral responsibility, Ismael’s naturalistic account shows that the freedom we ordinarily take ourselves to have is not threatened by deterministic physics; when determinism is understood on its own terms, stripped of imposed notions of compulsion and necessity, the purported tension between freedom and determinism is resolved. Furthermore, Ismael argues, biological systems with the capacity for representational thought have evolved unified, emergent ‘selves’, and the capacity for self-governance, behavioural flexibility and deliberative control.

Following Ismael’s methodology of naturalistic pragmatism, I aim to enrich her contextualised picture of human agency with a precise, unified account of the nature of agency itself, and to further develop this integrated account of freedom and the structures that underpin freedom. Building on Ismael’s account of the self-governing free agent, I aim to fill out some of the details of the cognitive structures that underpin our first-person experiences of choice and endogenous control of action, and discuss how those structures arise in the natural order. Using the predictive processing framework to explore the structures of agency, choice, and autonomy that underpin self-governance, I argue that our potential for freedom – freedom in its most fully developed manifestation – lies in our capacity for autonomy, which is realized when we act deliberately to modify our own cognitive processes and transform our own minds.

text: Architects of our own experience: The structure of human freedom The picture of a deterministic universe is difficult to reconcile with the phenomenology of agency, deliberation, and choice. While everyday conceptions of individual freedom and responsibility depend on the pre-theoretical assumption that we have meaningful control over our decisions and volitional actions, if determinism is true, the outcome of any deliberative process is always the only outcome available; the inevitable result of a reasoning sequence that could not have proceeded any other way. However compelling our ordinary sense of agency and control is, determinism gives us reason to doubt that we have the kind of freedom that we intuitively take ourselves to have.

The debate over whether free will is compatible with determinism is a long-running one, traditionally motivated by, and entangled in further disputes about what kind of freedom or control is required for moral responsibility. In a promising and refreshing turn, recent work by philosopher of physics, Jennan Ismael, has significantly advanced the debate. Leaving aside questions about moral responsibility, Ismael’s naturalistic account shows that the freedom we ordinarily take ourselves to have is not threatened by deterministic physics; when determinism is understood on its own terms, stripped of imposed notions of compulsion and necessity, the purported tension between freedom and determinism is resolved. Furthermore, Ismael argues, biological systems with the capacity for representational thought have evolved unified, emergent ‘selves’, and the capacity for self-governance, behavioural flexibility and deliberative control.

Following Ismael’s methodology of naturalistic pragmatism, I aim to enrich her contextualised picture of human agency with a precise, unified account of the nature of agency itself, and to further develop this integrated account of freedom and the structures that underpin freedom. Building on Ismael’s account of the self-governing free agent, I aim to fill out some of the details of the cognitive structures that underpin our first-person experiences of choice and endogenous control of action, and discuss how those structures arise in the natural order. Using the predictive processing framework to explore the structures of agency, choice, and autonomy that underpin self-governance, I argue that our potential for freedom – freedom in its most fully developed manifestation – lies in our capacity for autonomy, which is realized when we act deliberately to modify our own cognitive processes and transform our own minds.

year: 2024

title: Variation in nitrate sources and delivery in space and time within the 389 ha Lake Okaro catchment

authors: Eyberg, Claire Elizabeth

subjects: Nitrate

abstract: The eutrophication of surface water is a global issue, with excessive nitrate 
concentrations reducing water quality and affecting water supplies, 
ecosystem health and its recreational use. In New Zealand, the degradation 
of freshwater quality has largely been attributed to nitrate leaching from 
intensive landuse, in particular from intensively grazed pastoral systems.   
As agricultural activity in catchments can contribute a large proportion of the 
nutrient pollution in surface waters, an understanding of nitrogen dynamics 
is therefore vital in managing the downstream effects of diffuse nitrogen 
inputs. Nitrate isotopes (δ¹⁵N, δ¹⁸O) have been increasingly used for 
determining nitrate cycling and source identification. Together with water 
isotopes (δ²H, δ¹⁸O), these conservative tracers can provide the necessary 
tools for determining the transport mechanisms of nitrate.   
    
Lake Okaro has suffered from water quality degradation for several decades, 
and has been the focus of intense lake restoration projects focused on 
nutrient management. The 389 ha agriculture-dominated catchment 
exemplifies New Zealand’s complex physiographic landscape.   

Results from high-resolution monitoring of streamflow during storm events 
demonstrates the potential to capture dynamic shifts in distinct water 
sources, but can be limited by insufficient monitoring of ancillary parameters, 
or a lack of pre-event characterisation of streamflow. Spatial sampling 
indicated characteristic fractionation processes for sites of similar 
environments, likely due to enhanced plant and microbial processing of 
carbon and nitrogen. This spatial sampling demonstrates that even in small 
catchments, there may be a significant degree of heterogeneity in water and 
nitrate flows, in both space and time.   
    
Nitrate contributions were much lower in summer relative to autumn and 
winter during baseflow or non-storm flow. Storm events contributed a 
disproportionate amount of nitrate, but the effect was most notable in winter.   

During baseflow, or non-stormflow, in the main inflow stream in the Lake 
Okaro catchment, nitrate had δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O values indicative of a soil 
nitrogen origin (+5.8 ‰ to +7.3 ‰, and -0.5 ‰ to +1.7 ‰, respectively).    

The dominant nitrate sources shifted during rain events, with streamflow in 
the winter event having δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O values indicative of urine, whereas 
the summer event observed δ¹⁸O-enriched baseflow signatures. Water 
isotope ratios indicated the winter event was dominated by event water. The 
differing seasonal responses to rainfall suggest nitrate inputs during storms 
in this catchment are strongly linked to seasonal nitrate availability in water 
flow paths.    

Patterns observed in temporal and spatial data collected require more 
investigation around potential reasons or mechanisms of fractionation. 
Further refinement of the Okaro catchment flows and cycling of nitrogen will 
help create more catered management techniques.

text: Variation in nitrate sources and delivery in space and time within the 389 ha Lake Okaro catchment The eutrophication of surface water is a global issue, with excessive nitrate 
concentrations reducing water quality and affecting water supplies, 
ecosystem health and its recreational use. In New Zealand, the degradation 
of freshwater quality has largely been attributed to nitrate leaching from 
intensive landuse, in particular from intensively grazed pastoral systems.   
As agricultural activity in catchments can contribute a large proportion of the 
nutrient pollution in surface waters, an understanding of nitrogen dynamics 
is therefore vital in managing the downstream effects of diffuse nitrogen 
inputs. Nitrate isotopes (δ¹⁵N, δ¹⁸O) have been increasingly used for 
determining nitrate cycling and source identification. Together with water 
isotopes (δ²H, δ¹⁸O), these conservative tracers can provide the necessary 
tools for determining the transport mechanisms of nitrate.   
    
Lake Okaro has suffered from water quality degradation for several decades, 
and has been the focus of intense lake restoration projects focused on 
nutrient management. The 389 ha agriculture-dominated catchment 
exemplifies New Zealand’s complex physiographic landscape.   

Results from high-resolution monitoring of streamflow during storm events 
demonstrates the potential to capture dynamic shifts in distinct water 
sources, but can be limited by insufficient monitoring of ancillary parameters, 
or a lack of pre-event characterisation of streamflow. Spatial sampling 
indicated characteristic fractionation processes for sites of similar 
environments, likely due to enhanced plant and microbial processing of 
carbon and nitrogen. This spatial sampling demonstrates that even in small 
catchments, there may be a significant degree of heterogeneity in water and 
nitrate flows, in both space and time.   
    
Nitrate contributions were much lower in summer relative to autumn and 
winter during baseflow or non-storm flow. Storm events contributed a 
disproportionate amount of nitrate, but the effect was most notable in winter.   

During baseflow, or non-stormflow, in the main inflow stream in the Lake 
Okaro catchment, nitrate had δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O values indicative of a soil 
nitrogen origin (+5.8 ‰ to +7.3 ‰, and -0.5 ‰ to +1.7 ‰, respectively).    

The dominant nitrate sources shifted during rain events, with streamflow in 
the winter event having δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O values indicative of urine, whereas 
the summer event observed δ¹⁸O-enriched baseflow signatures. Water 
isotope ratios indicated the winter event was dominated by event water. The 
differing seasonal responses to rainfall suggest nitrate inputs during storms 
in this catchment are strongly linked to seasonal nitrate availability in water 
flow paths.    

Patterns observed in temporal and spatial data collected require more 
investigation around potential reasons or mechanisms of fractionation. 
Further refinement of the Okaro catchment flows and cycling of nitrogen will 
help create more catered management techniques.

year: 2020

title: Mana whenua / Belonging through assessment: A kōhanga reo perspective

authors: McMillan, Hoana

abstract: This article presents the findings from a Teacher Led-Innovation Fund (TLIF) project where kaiako set out to develop and then explore Ngā kōrero tuku iho as an assessment approach within kōhanga reo. Underpinned by kaupapa Māori research protocols, wānanga (discussions) were held with kaiako and whānau to evaluate the approach. The findings from wānanga with whānau are presented and discussed in this article encouraging new ways of thinking about Mana Whenua/Belonging within the context of assessment and beyond.

text: Mana whenua / Belonging through assessment: A kōhanga reo perspective This article presents the findings from a Teacher Led-Innovation Fund (TLIF) project where kaiako set out to develop and then explore Ngā kōrero tuku iho as an assessment approach within kōhanga reo. Underpinned by kaupapa Māori research protocols, wānanga (discussions) were held with kaiako and whānau to evaluate the approach. The findings from wānanga with whānau are presented and discussed in this article encouraging new ways of thinking about Mana Whenua/Belonging within the context of assessment and beyond.

year: 2020