Free Will

Sam Harris

Mar 2012 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

From the New York Times bestselling author of The End of Faith, a thought-provoking, "brilliant and witty" (Oliver Sacks) look at the notion of free will—and the implications that it is an illusion.

A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion.

In this enlightening book, Sam Harris argues that this truth about the human mind does not undermine morality or diminish the importance of social and political freedom, but it can and should change the way we think about some of the most important questions in life.

Ratings and reviews

I was expecting more from Sam Harris. Many of the arguments are shallow and he sets up a number of straw men. I suppose this the nature of a short essay, but frankly he should have put more time into crafting his argument. Many times Sam confuses the difference between a) something causing our actions versus there being a reason for our actions, and b) understanding why we make certain choices versus being able to make choices at all. You won't miss anything if you skip this book.

He only has like half a paragraph about libets experiment on free will and doesn't even talk about how libet himself reviewed the paper he published saying it DOES NOT show that we don't have free will then later libet himself did an experiment showing there is a "free won't"..........Sam is a pseudointellectual that think he found the answers for different stuff in life that philosophers have debated for 2000+ years

Like Harris' other books Free Will is short and to the point. He does a wonderful job of expressing his arguments in a short but powerful way. I particularly appreciate his comparisons of how his view differs from other authors. Even if you don't ultimately accept his argument this book is sure to raise your awareness of your own mental processes and give you a lot to think about. It is short enough you can read it in a single sitting but deep enough you will be thinking about it for weeks.

About the author

Sam Harris is the author of the bestselling books The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, and Lying. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction. His writing has been published in over fifteen languages. Dr. Harris is cofounder and CEO of Project Reason, a nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. He received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA. Please visit his website at SamHarris.org.