Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Free Will and Responsibility

What are the conditions under which a person’s will is free and they are responsible for what they do? As the essays in this volume demonstrate, this question cannot be answered exclusively from the armchair or exclusively with the empirical methods of science. Nadelhoffer and Munroe have assembled a set of exciting, transdisciplinary essays that seamlessly synthesize philosophical, theoretical, and empirical perspectives. Though experimental philosophy is a relatively young field, the sense that it has come of age and is delivering important new insights about human agency is evident throughout these pages. * Chandra Sripada, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Psychiatry, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, USA *
Expert philosophers have been doing careful thought experiments for centuries, but recently they started collecting data on how ordinary people think about the same issues. This wonderful book will bring anyone up to speed on how ordinary citizens understand the concept of free will and related issues of moral responsibility and decision making. It has contributions by a diverse set of writers, including some of the most highly respected people in the field and some up-and-coming young hot shots. Each chapter presents an overview of an impressive research program, illuminating some vital and fascinating aspect of free will. The chapters are beautifully written and are thus a pleasure to read, whether you are a veteran expert in the field or just an average citizen curious about the topic. The topic is one of the grandest questions in Western thought and central to how to understand human nature, including the mental processes that underlie actions and choices. Anyone who reads this will come away enlightened and inspired. * Roy F. Baumeister, author of The Self Explained: Why and How We Become Who We Are (2022), USA *