How Free Are You?: The Determinism Problem

A concise introduction to one of the central questions of philosophy for students and general readers, this book asks the question, "Are we subject to determinism or do we possess Free Will and thus responsibility for our actions?" The first six chapters of the book deal with the rival claims of the two theories, and investigate whether either of them is clear, consistent, complete, and demonstrably true. The inquiry in itself amounts to a complete philosophy of mind. The last four chapters deal with the implications of determinism and its significance in our public and private actions. Honderich examines the doctrines of compatibilism, which argues that we are subject to causation but are nevertheless free, and incompatibilism, which sees determinism and freedom as mutually exclusive. This debate has been one of philosophy's main battlegrounds for centuries, with thinkers as distinguished as Hume and Kant in opposite camps.