Free will
Free Will is a 2012 book by the American author and neuroscientist Sam Harris. Harris argues that the truth about the human mind (that free will is an illusion) does not undermine morality or diminish the importance of political and social freedom, and can as well as should change the way we think about some of the most important questions in life.
Stats for nerds
15recommend
21mentions
20people
2012–2022years
76% recommend19% neutral5% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I found Sam Harris’ book on Free Will, named as such, to be extraordinarily compelling. It’s short, at 96 pages, and I feel worth the read.
- Free Will by Sam Harris.
Before reading it I felt like I had free will, but I didn’t know how to articulate why. A few hours later (it’s not a long read), it was clear to me that free will is an illusion.
To summarize, we can control what we do, but we can’t control what we want to do, which is a product of our genetics and our environment —- neither of which we have much control over.
This realization has eliminated all regret from my life, since it means that wishing I had made a different decision in the past is akin to wishing the laws of the universe were different.
- "Free Will" by Sam Harris. A buddy told me to read this after we got in a long debate about free will at a bar. Basically, he told me I wasn't even grasping what free will is, and that the hour to read the book would totally change everything for me. Lo and behold, he was right and the next conversation we had about free will was much deeper and largely framed by the insights in this book. It convinced me that the real question isn't "Do we have free will?" but rather "What is free will?"
"The Beginning of Infinity" by David Deutsch. It's difficult to pinpoint this book as being about a thing or a set of things, but my best attempt is to say it's about attaining knowledge and the non-existent limits to human knowledge. I've never felt more inspired than when I finished reading this book and reflected on the infinite lengths humankind has to go on technological progress. Overall, it's an incredible argument for optimism about what is possible.
- Free Will by Sam Harris had a great affect on how I view the people and by proxy the world around me.
He argues that anyones decisions are a direct result of the physical structure of their respective brain, which in turn is moulded by their genes and experience so far, rather than a by an unexplainable free will.
The book made me reconsider how people treat each other because of their beliefs and actions - from harbouring negative feelings towards somebody due to their opinions to locking up people for committing crimes.
At the very least it has helped me in personal relationships and encouraged me to try to understand where another persons opposing viewpoint is coming from rather than feel negativity or superiority towards them because I feel they are wrong.
- I highly recommend Sam Harris's "Free Will" and "The moral landscape"
- Sam Harris explores these topics in his book Free Will, I wasn't blown away by the read but would still recommended it if you already find yourself fascinated by the discussion.
