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What kinds of conversations might take place when two intelligent and informed young people - one a strong believer in free will and the other just as certain that we don't have it - get together to discuss their viewpoints? This new volume in the
Philosophical Dialogues on Contemporary Problems series introduces both sides of this age-old philosophical debate in a fun and accessible way.
Author and acclaimed philosopher Laura W. Ekstrom has created Rosa and Leif, two college students, who each give voice to the strongest arguments in the most important debates about free will and moral responsibility. Over the course of eleven days, Rosa, a strong defender of free will, draws on her religious beliefs and her thoughts about love and meaning in human life. Leif, her equally informed and articulate interlocutor, raises challenges to Rosa's points, drawing on the latest research and ideas in neuroscience, theology, and social psychology. Along the way, they must carefully develop clear reasons for their positions, while offering a fair hearing to alternative viewpoints and spurring readers to reach their own conclusions.
Working in a philosophical tradition established by Plato, these dialogues are both philosophically substantive and provocative, inviting readers to ponder issues that are fundamental to our understanding of the nature of choice, responsibility, and ourselves as human beings.
List of contents
Prologue
Part I: The Case for Free Will Day 1: Does religion show that we have free will? Day 2: Does interpersonal moral responsibility show that we have free will? Day 3: Does our humanity show that we have free will? Day 4: Does love show that we have free will? Day 5: Does the feeling of freely choosing show that we have free will?
Part II: The Case Against Free Will Day 6: Does God's existence show that we do not have free will? Day 7: Does causal determinism show that we do not have free will? Day 8: Does causal indeterminism show that we do not have free will? Day 9: Does social psychology show that we do not have free will? Day 10: Does neuroscience show that we do not have free will? Conclusion: Day 11: Summing Up Index
About the author
Laura W. Ekstrom is Chancellor Professor of Philosophy at William & Mary. She is the author of
Evil and Theodicy (2023),
God, Suffering, and the Value of Free Will (2021), and
Free Will: A Philosophical Study (2000), as well as numerous academic articles.
