In the modern academic world, to quote Rush, "there are those who think that life has nothing left to chance take, a host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance."¹ That is, a view called hard determinism that denies that humans have free will, and are variously just the mere products of atoms bumping into each other in the void, the puppets of genes, that time itself is an illusion, or that all is pre-ordained, among other sorts of determinism have increasingly become commonplace in philosophy and various sciences. In this book, the philosopher, physicist, and inventor Bob Doyle takes a look at the history of the free will debates, and gives an in depth analysis of all the different views on the subject. This book is not only a great resource for those interested in the subject, but includes some very convincing defenses of free will and a great solution to the determinism/indeterminism metaphysical dichotomy. He bases the views on well established science, and turns physics against the determinists who use it to deny free will. Not much seems to be left out of the book, which is full of references, annotations, and very well cited. It is a very academic work, but it is written in very easy to read language and includes a glossary of terms at the back for the reader who is not familiar with the subject.
Bob Doyle is probably not a familiar name to most, but he should be. He is an astrophysicist and quantum physicist, philosopher, and programmed the first word processor and some early video games including a best seller in 1980. He has also worked for NASA on a few different projects. More information can be found about him and his philosophical views at The Information Philosopher as well as his Wikipedia page. All in all, his intellect is not one to be dismissed, and this book should be read by anyone interested in philosophy.
¹Free Will by Rush, on the album Permanent Waves
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