Book Description
(Revised and Expanded Edition)
Illuminating, uplifting and lighthearted, the second edition of The Myth of Free Will expands on the powerful ideas in the first edition by offering fifty additional pages of quotes and short essays on free will.
The book strives to answer the question: “Who is saying we don’t have free will and what are their credentials?” It’s mostly an anthology, definitely not a philosophy text. It was written for a mainstream audience, for people who wonder: “Do I have free will?” “If not, why does it feel like I do?”
And it was written for people who understand that free will is a myth (the choir) and want to share this understanding with friends who might feel disturbed or intimidated by the subject.
Finally, The Myth of Free Will presents a quirky, yet profound treatment of an esoteric topic that’s destined to become edgy.
Contributors include Thomas W. Clark, Daniel Wegner, Steven Pinker, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer, William B. Provine, Paul Bloom, Antonio Damasio, Francis Crick, Eric Kandel, Susan Blackmore, Arnell Dowret, Read Montague, Lee M. Silver, Matt Ridley, Ginger Campbell, V.S. Ramachandran, Douglas Hofstadter, Kurt Vonnegut, Woody Allen, Mark Twain, and Albert Einstein. In all, fifty leading thinkers are represented.
The contents are divided into six chapters:
1) But It Seems So Real!
2) The Myth & Causality
3) The Myth & Morality
4) The Myth & the Brain
5) The Myth & Naturalism
6) The Myth & Me.
There is a quiz, eight lessons, illustrations and a glossary.
Comments
“The Myth of Free Will helps break the taboo on questioning the immaterial self and its supernatural free will.”
– Thomas W. Clark, author of Encountering Naturalism
“A witty, insightful and superbly fascinating trek through the issues surrounding the belief in free will.”
– Janet Luhrs, author of Simple Living