Free Will & Determinism Books - Page 2

The Illusion of Conscious Will (Bradford Books)

Daniel M. Wegner

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Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Selected as a Finalist in the category of Psychology/Mental Health in the 2002 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs) presented by Independent Publisher Magazine., Silver Award Winner for Philosophy in the 2002 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards. and Selected as an Outstanding Academic Book for 2002 by Choice Magazine

Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions, he argues, the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior, how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will, Wegner shows, helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion, it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality.

Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study, Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks at illusions of the will?-those cases where people feel that they are willing an act that they are not doing or, conversely, are not willing an act that they in fact are doing. He explores conscious will in hypnosis, Ouija board spelling, automatic writing, and facilitated communication, as well as in such phenomena as spirit possession, dissociative identity disorder, and trance channeling. The result is a book that sidesteps endless debates to focus, more fruitfully, on the impact on our lives of the illusion of conscious will.

The World As Will and Representation (2-Volume Set)

Arthur Schopenhauer

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Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Philosophy for independent thinkers 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.

Schopenhauer's magnum opus towers high above the silly word games of the analysts. This book is philosophy at its very best- a book that no educated person should miss for Schopenhauer wrote primarily for the layman. Like Nietzsche, he was highly skeptical of the "professionals" of his time. One thing that immediately strikes the reader is Schopenhauer's clear and crisp command of the written word unlike the severe case of abstractionitis that both Hegel and Heidegger seem to suffer from.

The World as Will and Representation clothes Transcendental Idealism in a pessimistic dress and offers a glorious, bold and innovated view of Kant's critical philosophy. Its scope and breadth reaches the outer limitations of human understanding creating a new and beautiful, yet cold and austere, vision that will forever challenge, shake, and destroy most people's views of reality. This book along with Kant's Critique gives a possible answer to one of the most perplexing problems of human understanding: it challenges and attempts to disarm Hume's powerful attack against the perceived "illusion" of causality. Whether it succeeds or not is left to the reader to decide.

Schopenhauer starts where Kant stops and he easily transcends him showing us how the world is a hostile place to live in and how reality is forever unknown to the knower. Few professional philosophers would probably agree with Schopenhauer. This in no way dimishes the value of his philosophy.

It is amazing that today most people simply ignore Schopenhauer and take him as a minor figure in the Western tradition. Part of the reason for this is because of Bertrand Russell, one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, who simply dismissed Schopenhauer and gave him a bad reputation in his popular book "History of Western Philosophy." (This book is heavily biased and is probably one of Russell's worst books causing more harm than good for people new to philosophy.) Russell basically rejected Schopenhauer's work on the premise of hypocrisy since Schopenhauer did not actually practice the philosophy that he preached; yet ironically enough, Russell, being a brilliant logician and no less than the father of modern analytic philosophy, succumbed to emotionalism via the tu quoque fallacy. (i.e. judging a claim as false based on the character of the person claiming it instead of its truth value)

The best thing to do is to simply read the book yourself. Commentaries are helpful after one has understood the work, never before. It is highly recommended that one read Kant and then follow-up with Schopenhauer's book. (Though many have still profited skipping Kant altogether.) Very few things in life will probably be more important or rewarding than doing this.

Editorial Review:

Volume 1 of the definitive English translation of one of the most important philosophical works of the 19th century, the basic statement in one important stream of post-Kantian thought. Corrects nearly 1,000 errors and omissions in the older Haldane-Kemp translation. For the first time, this edition translates and locates all quotes and provides full index.

Freedom Evolves

Daniel C. Dennett

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Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Compatibilism Defended Weakly 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

For the last part of this book, all the author seems to need is free will. I think we can all accept that (except, perhaps, for a few dreary philosophers with little or no influence). This book may make a real contribution in describing how free will evolved and evolves.

The first part of the book is devoted to an attempt to demonstrate that determinism and free will are compatible. This part is confusing and, I believe, confused. At one point he claims that the "prime mammal" argument is analogous to the "long causal chain" argument of hard determinists and that the same fallacy applies to both. This is crap. The arguments are not analogous and the "prime mammal" fallacy does not apply to the "long causal chain" argument.

Earlier the book attempts to explain how the evolution of avoiders could occur in Conway's game of Life. I don't see immediately how replicating Life objects acquire an interest in self preservation and the propagation of the "species," which I think are essential in Darwinian evolution, nor do I see how competitions, also required, arise. This may be a flaw in my own thinking - I'm not sure.

Dennett is very imaginative and there are many instructive areas of the book, regardless of whether or not you are willing to accept every argument he makes.

My own view is that for operational purposes (living in this world) free will is evident.

Determinism, on the other hand, is not evident. Debates and discussions determinism are futile exercises. The only purpose I see for them is to entertain philosophers (which might actually be useful in the sense that it occupies their time and therefore limits their ability to do damage by propagating some crazy ideology into the political arena).

Incidentally, if there were determinism and if there were no free will, philosophers sometimes worry about accountability. "How could we hold him responsible for murdering that woman?" This is an out-of-bounds concern. Under these conditions, holding people accountable, or not, would be part of what is determined.

Editorial Review:

Can there be freedom and free will in a deterministic world? Renowned philosopher Daniel Dennett emphatically answers “yes!” Using an array of provocative formulations, Dennett sets out to show how we alone among the animals have evolved minds that give us free will and morality. Weaving a richly detailed narrative, Dennett explains in a series of strikingly original arguments—drawing upon evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, and philosophy—that far from being an enemy of traditional explorations of freedom, morality, and meaning, the evolutionary perspective can be an indispensable ally. In Freedom Evolves, Dennett seeks to place ethics on the foundation it deserves: a realistic, naturalistic, potentially unified vision of our place in nature.

The Tyranny of Liberalism: Understanding and Overcoming Administered Freedom, Inquisitorial Tolerance, and Equality by Command

James Kalb

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Editorial Review:

When it comes to liberalism, the usual story in postwar America is one of decline, accompanied by the subplot of conservatism’s ascendance. But take a longer view—look beyond and below politics—and it is the unchallenged triumph of liberalism and its philosophical assumptions that ought to command our attention.

The triumph of liberalism means the tyranny of liberalism, explains James Kalb in this illuminating book, for liberalism is the extension into the sociopolitical realm of modern scientific thought and technological rationality. These modes of thinking are regarded by nearly everyone today as uniquely authoritative; those institutions and beliefs which do not conform are regarded at best as annoyances, and at worst as evil. Furthermore, Kalb shows how liberalism is an expression of the interests and outlook of commercial and managerial elites, who are suspicious of less rationalized and controllable forms of social organization like the family.

Kalb does not merely rehearse a tale of woe, nor is he content simply to analyze the current situation. With reference to concrete issues such as the debate surrounding same-sex marriage, he outlines the kind of traditionalist response to liberalism that is likely to be most effective. He argues that traditional, decentralized, and nonliberal forms of social organization are ultimately impossible to eradicate, and he shows how more human forms of association than those favored by liberalism might once again be brought into being.

Pensees and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics)

Blaise Pascal

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

'The Great Pascal' 5 out of 5 stars.
27 of 28 people found this review helpful.

This Oxford's version of the Pensees is in some ways superior to the Penguin Classics version. The introduction, by Anthony Levi, gives a much better insight into the history behind the development of Pascal's 'thoughts'. As far as the biography is concerned, Oxford's version gives a much broader span of time concerning Blaise's life.

A lot of people blame Pascal for not being like Montaigne, but that is just foolish. I enjoy Pascal's style because of its originality, and there also seems to me to be a similiar style between both men--espcially in how they both change ideas in a brief span of time. I believe Montainge originally meant to make his 'essays' a collection of expanded sayings and maxims but it took another form, and Pascal maybe wanted his 'pensees' to be his magnum opus by turning it into a large book that would be something like Montaign's Essays. Both men, I guess, envisioned something different from their final product and both of them left a legacy that was fruitful and informative, and their works shouldn't be compared as two competing styles since they are so different from one another in both format and intention.

And after reading Pascal's 'Discussion with Monsieur de Sacy', I was struck by Pascal's shear brilliance. He is a giant of a writer and is one of the cleanest writers I have ever read.

Editorial Review:

For much of his life, Pascal (1623-62) worked on a magnum opus which was never published in the form the philosopher intended. Instead, Pascal left a mass of fragments, some of them meant as notes for the Apologie. These became known as the Pensees, and they occupy a crucial place in Western philosophy and religious writing. This translation is the only one based on the Pensees as Pascal left them. It includes the principal dossiers classified by Pascal, as well as the essential portion of his important Writings on Grace.

The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy (Meridian)

Victor E. Frankl

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Everyone should read at least one of Frankl's books 5 out of 5 stars.
64 of 68 people found this review helpful.

This book and Frankl's other popular book, "Man's search for meaning" offer a great deal of overlap. Yet I fond both extrememlty interesting and helpful. Frankl posits that we all have an innate tendency to mental/spiritual health which he calls the will to meaning. This is similar to the body's hedency to heal after any physical assault. He explains that good counselling focusses the will to meaning, or removes blocks which are preventing it from being expressed. Frankl's experiences in a NAZI death camp show how focussing on personal meaning and what little freedom of choice one does have, can enable mental health to survive even under the most pathogenic of circumstances.

An Excellent Elaboration On The Basic Concepts Of Logotherapy 4 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

As several other reviewer have already mentioned, "The Will To Meaning" is basically an elaboration on the section from "Man's Search For Meaning" called "Logotherapy In A Nutshell." If "Man's Search For Meaning" made any sort of impact on you, I would highly suggest reading this book.

Editorial Review:

Frankl discusses logotherapy--man's motivation to search for meaning in his life--in the context of other prominent psychotherapies and describes the techniques he uses with his patients to combat the "existential vacuum". 11 line drawings.

Great Books: My Adventures With Homer, Rousseau, Woolf, and Other Indestructible Writers of the Western World

David Denby

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Denby Redux: Thirty Years after Columbia the English Literature major returns to study the Western Canon: 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

David Denby wrote this book nearly a decade ago. Denby is a New York film critic; a left wing Jewish intellectual and a graduate of Columbia University. Thirty years after graduation from Columbia the 48 year old D decided he would return to a study of great literary works. He felt an emptiness in his gut. Denby's middle age malaise drove him to open the printed page for deep, enlighting and reflective thoughts on humanity, culture and his personal spiritual odyessey.
The book is a fascinating mini-course in great books. Denby takes us into the Columbia classroom where we meet different professors and students. They are a diverse group from African-Americans to foreign students; from liberals to fundamentalists; from young to old. In their dialogue the reader is asked to engage through the printed page with his/her own thoughts. There is much here dealing with the debate over the core curriculum in colleges; Denby's ties the work wit the purpose of education, reading and study in our non-reading, political correct land.
Great books by such giants of the Western tradition as Homer, the Greek dramatists; Augustine, Boccaccio; Dante; Machiavelli, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Rosseau, John Stuart Mill, John Locke, the Bible;
Simone Beavoir, Joseph Conrad, Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf have chapters
exploring their importance to Western culture.
Denby's book deserves reading. Worth your time.

Editorial Review:

At the age of 48, film critic David Denby decided to return to Columbia University and re-take the courses he took as a student in 1961: Literature, Humanities and Contemporary Civilization. He celebrates his rediscovery of authors such as Homer, Plato, Hegel, Austen, Marx, Nietzsche, and Virginia Woolf. He recreates the atmosphere of the classroom--the strategies used by a remarkable group of teachers and the strengths and weaknesses of media-age students as they grapple with these difficult, sometimes frightening works. All year long he watches the students grow and his own life and memories break out of hiding. 4 cassettes.

Conversations on Consciousness: What the Best Minds Think about the Brain, Free Will, and What It Means to Be Human

Susan Blackmore

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

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In Conversations on Consciousness, Susan Blackmore interviews some of the great minds of our time, a who's who of eminent thinkers, all of whom have devoted much of their lives to understanding the concept of consciousness. The interviewees, ranging from major philosophers to renowned scientists, talk candidly with Blackmore about some of the key philosophical issues confronting us in a series of conversations that are revealing, insightful, and stimulating. They ruminate on the nature of consciousness (is it something apart from the brain?) and discuss if it is even possible to understand the human mind. Some of these thinkers say no, but most believe that we will pierce the mystery surrounding consciousness, and that neuroscience will provide the key. Blackmore goes beyond the issue of consciousness to ask other intriguing questions: Is there free will? (A question which yields many conflicted replies, with most saying yes and no.) If not, how does this effect the way you live your life; and more broadly, how has your work changed the way you live?
Paired with an introduction and extensive glossary that provide helpful background information, these provocative conversations illuminate how some of the greatest minds tackle some of the most difficult questions about human nature.

Riddles of Existence: A Guided Tour of Metaphysics

Earl Conee, Theodore Sider

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The riddles of metaphysics are the deepest and most puzzling questions we can ponder. What are the basic ingredients of reality? What is their ultimate nature? Could reality have been different? And where do human beings fit into reality? Indeed, why does reality contain anything at all?
Riddles of Existence is the first book ever to make metaphysics genuinely accessible and fun. Its lively, informal style brings these questions to life and shows how stimulating it can be to think about them. Earl Conee and Theodore Sider offer a lucid discussion of the major topics in metaphysics. What makes me the same person I was as a child? Is everything fated to be exactly as it is? Does time flow? How fast does it flow, and can one travel back in time, against the current? Does God exist? Why is there anything at all rather than nothing? If our actions are caused by things science can predict and control, how can we have free will? The authors approach these topics in an open-minded and undogmatic manner, giving readers a full sense of the issues involved. They don't try to convince us of their point of view. Instead, they hope that, by reading this book, we will come to appreciate the importance of such problems and develop reasoned opinions of your own.
Riddles of Existence shows that philosophy can be exciting and important, and understandable by anyone. No philosophical background is required to enjoy this book: anyone who has thought about life's most profound questions will find plenty to provoke and entertain them here.

Prisons We Choose to Live Inside (Cbc Massey Lectures Series)

Doris May Lessing

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Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Things You should have been taught. 5 out of 5 stars.
32 of 33 people found this review helpful.

In a time of polarization, Lessings small book shines a much needed light on how we use out-groups and outsiders in general as projection points for the feelings that society and religion tell us are unacceptable. We want to think of ourselves as noble when we identify some evil to correct and go about righteously eradicating it. Unfortunately, the core problem is that we are angry and feel a need to hurt someone or something. That is the real evil that we never look at. How noble were the people in her book who cut down a beautiful and historic tree because it was used to hang someone they liked? Was it the trees fault or did their need to express rage simply find a helpless victim?

The behaviors discussed in this book need to be recognised, not only because we will engage in them without thinking, but because they can be used against us by governments, religions and other social groups who fully understand their power. No group can survive for long if the natural aggressions of its members is not diverted toward some outside source. Every group is going to have something, or someone that they are against.

While she can go on too long in making some points, If you really think about the studies discussed in this book and began to apply them in your life, you will wakeup to some uncomfortable "slights of hand". Currently religion and politics in this country seem to be focused on homosexual marriage and abortion as "the problems". The message is, "spend your time fixing these people and you are part of the good group." You might want to stop for a moment and ask yourself why someone is trying to divert your aggressive feelings toward social groups and issues that there is a 95% likelihood you will never be part of and whose members are unlikely to ever impact your life. When that righteous feeling wells inside you ask yourself...what is this great group I belong to asking me NOT to look at?