Free Will Explained: How Science and Philosophy Converge to Create a Beautiful Illusion
-
-
3.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $8.99
Publisher Description
A compelling essay on free will from an internationally recognized authority on atheism, and author of God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction.
Do we have free will? And if we don’t, why do we feel as if we do? In a godless universe governed by impersonal laws of cause and effect, are you responsible for your actions? Former evangelical minister Dan Barker (God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction) unveils a novel solution to the question that has baffled scientists and philosophers for millennia. He outlines the concept of what he calls “harmonic free will,” a two-dimensional perspective that pivots the paradox on its axis to show that there is no single answer—both sides are right. Free will is a useful illusion: not a scientific, but a social truth.
Customer Reviews
Great book, not so good audiobook.
The book itself is great. There are plenty of decent ideas being tossed around. And it does separate itself from books of a similar vibe enough to feel like you’ve read something new.
Although, unless you’re a trained musician you may get really lost on his ideas of “harmonic” and “melodic” free will.
But overall, the content is worthy of a read.
That said … I feel like in almost every example I know of, choosing an audiobook read by it’s author is always the best choice if you want to hear it the way it was meant to be heard. Especially books in this type of category…
This would be one of the few exceptions to that rule. Dan Barker has a naturally winy and annoying voice and tries way too hard to be dramatic and emphatic in his delivery. So it ends up lacking the authenticity that guys like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins tend to communicate through their self-read audiobooks.
I think that anyone interested in this topic should READ this book. But you may want to pass on the audiobook.