Publisher's Synopsis
Free will is the capacity for agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to moral responsibility, praise, guilt, sin, and other judgments that apply only to freely chosen actions. It is also connected with the concepts of advice, persuasion, deliberation, and prohibition. Traditionally, only freely willed actions are seen as deserving credit or blame. Whether a free will exists, what it is, and the implications of whether it exists or not are some of the longest-running debates of philosophy and religion. Some conceive of free will as the right to act outside of external influences or wishes. Free will is an absurdity and an illusion. Yet it's an intuitive reality for most. It's one of the oldest and most debated ideas. This book continues the debate, looking at the history of the idea, the arguments for and against, the linguistic and cultural influences, as well as the social consequences of the rejection of the concept.
