ENGLISH

Free will: a very short introduction

By Thomas Pink

Book information

Publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
Year
2004
ISBN
9780192853585, 0192853589
Open Library ID
OL7384523M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (1887314 bytes)
Series
Very Short Introductions
Pages
143\143
Topic
Medicine Neurology
Time added
2009-08-06 05:14:26

Description

Every day we seem to make and act upon all kinds of choices: some trivial, others so consequential that they change the course of one's life, or even the course of history. But are these choices really free, or are we compelled to act the way we do by factors beyond our control? Is the feeling that we could have made different decisions just an illusion? And if our choices are not free, is it legitimate to hold people morally responsible for their actions? Thomas Pink looks at the fundamental philosophical question of free will, engaging in discussion of the claim: If our actions are causally determined by events beyond our control, that means that we can never act freely, and so can never be held responsible for our actions.

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