Free Will: A Very Short Introduction

Description

"Every day we seem to make and act upon all kinds of free choices - some trivial, and others so consequential that they may change the course of our life. But are these choices reality 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?" "This very short introduction looks at a range of issues surrounding this fundamental philosophical question. Exploring free will through the ideas of the Greek and medieval philosophers up to present-day thinkers, Thomas Pink provides an introduction to this subject, and a new defence of the reality of human free will."--Jacket.  Read more... Abstract: Do we really make our own decisions? Or are we compelled to act by factors beyond our control? This introduction is an investigation of one of the most important problems of Western philosophy. It looks at a range of issues surrounding this fundamental philosophical question, exploring it from the ideas of the Greek and medieval philosophers.  Read more... Content: The free will problem -- Freedom as free will -- Reason -- Nature -- Morality without freedom? -- Scepticism about libertarian freedom -- Self-determination and the will -- Freedom and its place in nature.