Freedom, Responsibility, and Determinism

"There has been a great deal of philosophical progress in the free will debate in the last two generations, and much of this progress has been complex and rather technical. In less than one hundred pages, John Lemos manages to introduce the reader to this debate, as well as to related debates about religion and science as they relate to free will—without dumbing down and in a pleasant, accessible dialogue form. This is an impressive achievement." —Saul Smilansky, Professor of Philosophy, University of Haifa

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27115g

A Philosophical Dialogue

John Lemos

March 2013 - 120 pp.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Cloth 978-1-60384-931-9
$30.00
Paper 978-1-60384-930-2
$10.00
Instructor Examination (Review) Copy 978-1-60384-930-2
$1.00

eBook available for $8.95. Click HERE for more information.

John Lemos' Freedom, Responsibility, and Determinism offers an up-to-date introduction to free will (and associated) debates in an engaging, dialogic format that recommends it for use by beginning students in philosophy as well as by undergraduates in intermediate courses in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and action theory.

 

Reviews:

"There has been a great deal of philosophical progress in the free will debate in the last two generations, and much of this progress has been complex and rather technical. In less than one hundred pages, John Lemos manages to introduce the reader to this debate, as well as to related debates about religion and science as they relate to free will—without dumbing down and in a pleasant, accessible dialogue form. This is an impressive achievement."
    —Saul Smilansky, Professor of Philosophy, University of Haifa

"Lemos' dialogue on free will is up to the standards of the very best of Hackett's excellent previous introductory dialogues on philosophical topics."
    —Robert Kane, University Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and Professor of Law, University of Texas at Austin

"Accessible, substansive, and well-organized. Intelligent use of the dialogue form."
    —Raymond Belliotti, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Philosophy, SUNY Fredonia 

"A very nice book . . . interesting and well-written. . . . Not only do I recommend Lemos's book, I plan to use it in my next Philosophy in Film course.
   "What I like most about this book, apart from its breezy style and readability, is that it discusses a wide range of philosophical topics and debates related to free will. Here is an incomplete list of issues that are discussed in the book: punishment, moral responsibility, the problem of free will and determinism, the problem of luck, Frankfurt examples, libertarian theories of action, criticisms of free will from neuroscience  and the social sciences, the problem of evil, and the problem of divine foreknowledge. One could use this text as a basis for discussions in Introduction to Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Metaphysics, or—in my case—Philosophy in Film. The book is broad in philosophical topics and rich in resources.
   "There are additional plusses to the dialogue. For instance, Lemos's book discusses theories of punishment in detail (Act 1, p. 3ff.). Such debates are often missing from free will and introductory anthologies. Yet they are crucial to discussions about free will and moral responsibility. Further, Lemos frames the main free will problem as the dilemma of determinism (9-10). He recognizes that it is not just the problem of free will and determinism, for libertarian views have troubles of their own.
   "Another big plus is the inclusion of study questions, discussion questions, and suggested readings after each of the five acts."
    —Joseph Keim Campbell, Washington State University, in Teaching Philosophy

 

About the Author:

John Lemos is Professor of Philosophy, Coe College.