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Free Will

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"Free Will" by Mark Balaguer is a challenging yet accessible introduction to the philosophical problem of free will. Balaguer delves into the various arguments for and against the existence of free will, addressing both philosophical and scientific perspectives. The author's writing style is engaging, with a mix of humor and real-life examples, making complex concepts comprehensible without veering off-topic. Balaguer presents a balanced view of the debate surrounding free will, leaving readers with the possibility that free will exists but acknowledging the lack of definitive proof at the current time.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is informal and conversational, making complex ideas accessible through clarity and humor.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative focuses on the philosophical inquiry into free will, particularly challenging scientific claims and exploring diverse arguments surrounding the existence of free will.

Setting:

The setting encompasses a modern context of philosophical debate and scientific inquiry about human behavior.

Pacing:

The pacing fluctuates throughout the book, with engaging parts interspersed with sections that feel slow or confusing.

Notes:

The concept of free will has been debated for centuries in philosophical circles.
People often live without concern about whether their choices are truly free.
Scientific studies claim that humans might not possess free will as commonly thought.
Experiments from Libet and Haynes imply our brains make decisions before we consciously act.
The book 'Free Will' challenges these scientific views, arguing they are not conclusive.
Free will seems to matter most during torn decisions, like choosing between two conflicting options.
Intuition and everyday tasks often lead us to prefer not having to think about decisions.
The book mixes science, philosophy, and even spiritual viewpoints while mostly favoring a scientific perspective.
Einstein is labeled a determinist, while quantum mechanics pioneers are considered indeterminists.
The book emphasizes the importance of skepticism when interpreting scientific claims about free will.

From The Publisher:

A philosopher considers whether the scientific and philosophical arguments against free will are reason enough to give up our belief in it.

In our daily life, it really seems as though we have free will, that what we do from moment to moment is determined by conscious decisions that we freely make. You get up from the couch, you go for a walk, you eat chocolate ice cream. It seems that we're in control of actions like these; if we are, then we have free will. But in recent years, some have argued that free will is an illusion. The neuroscientist (and best-selling author) Sam Harris and the late Harvard psychologist Daniel Wegner, for example, claim that certain scientific findings disprove free will. In this engaging and accessible volume in the Essential Knowledge series, the philosopher Mark Balaguer examines the various arguments and experiments that have been cited to support the claim that human beings don't have free will. He finds them to be overstated and misguided.

Balaguer discusses determinism, the view that every physical event is predetermined, or completely caused by prior events. He describes several philosophical and scientific arguments against free will, including one based on Benjamin Libet's famous neuroscientific experiments, which allegedly show that our conscious decisions are caused by neural events that occur before we choose. He considers various religious and philosophical views, including the philosophical pro-free-will view known as compatibilism. Balaguer concludes that the anti-free-will arguments put forward by philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists simply don't work. They don't provide any good reason to doubt the existence of free will. But, he cautions, this doesn't necessarily mean that we have free will. The question of whether we have free will remains an open one; we simply don't know enough about the brain to answer it definitively.

 
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