Free Will and Luck [Hardcover]

Alfred R. Mele (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2006

Mele's ultimate purpose in this book is to help readers think more clearly about free will. He identifies and makes vivid the most important conceptual obstacles to justified belief in the existence of free will and meets them head on. Mele clarifies the central issues in the philosophical debate about free will and moral responsibility, criticizes various influential contemporary theories about free will, and develops two overlapping conceptions of free will--one for readers who are convinced that free will is incompatible with determinism (incompatibilists), and the other for readers who are convinced of the opposite (compatibilists).
Luck poses problems for all believers in free will, and Mele offers novel solutions to those problems--one for incompatibilist believers in free will and the other for compatibilists. An early chapter of this empirically well-informed book clearly explains influential neuroscientific studies of free will and debunks some extravagant interpretations of the data. Other featured topics include abilities and alternative possibilities, control and decision-making, the bearing of manipulation on free will, and the development of human infants into free agents. Mele's theory offers an original perspective on an important problem and will garner the attention of anyone interested in the debate on free will.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The style of the book is detailed and rigorous.... For those working within the Free Will debate the book is recommended and makes a valuable contribution."--David Wall, Metapsychology Online Reviews

"Mele's Free Will and Luck is well written and tightly argued. It will be a very important contribution to the literature on free will."--Randolph Clarke, Department of Philosophy, University of Georgia

"This is a splendid book. It features several new and significant contributions to the debate, and it develops existing arguments in creative and surprising ways. Overall, it constitutes a genuine advance in our understanding of free will and moral responsibility. It is sure to be widely read and discussed."--Derk Pereboom, Department of Philosophy, University of Vermont

About the Author

Alfred R. Mele is the William H. and Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University. He is author of Irrationality (OUP 1987), Springs of Action (OUP 1992), Autonomous Agents (OUP 1995), and Motivation and Agency (OUP 2003), the editor of The Philosophy of Action (OUP 1997), and coeditor of Mental Causation (OUP 1993) and The Oxford Handbook of Rationality (OUP 2004).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195305043
• ISBN-13: 978-0195305043
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,558,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.