Rationality, Control, and Freedom: Making Sense of Human Freedom

The subject of this book is the controversy—one of the oldest in philosophy—about whether it is possible to have freedom in the face of universal causal determinism. Of course, it is crucial to consider what such freedom might mean—in particular, there is an important distinction between libertarian “free will” and the more naturalistic view of freedom taken by compatibilists.

This book provides background for laypersons through a historical survey of earlier views and some discussion and cr...