Free Will

By: Sam Harris

Narrated by: Sam Harris

Length: 1 hr and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion.

In this enlightening book, Sam Harris argues that this truth about the human mind does not undermine morality or diminish the importance of social and political freedom, but it can and should change the way we think about some of the most important questions in life.

©2012 Sam Harris (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Free will is an illusion so convincing that people simply refuse to believe that we don’t have it. In Free Will, Sam Harris combines neuroscience and psychology to lay this illusion to rest at last. Like all of Harris’s books, this one will not only unsettle you but make you think deeply. Read it: you have no choice." (Jerry A. Coyne, Professor of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, and author of Why Evolution Is True)

"In this elegant and provocative book, Sam Harris demonstrates—with great intellectual ferocity and panache—that free will is an inherently flawed and incoherent concept, even in subjective terms. If he is right, the book will radically change the way we view ourselves as human beings." (V. S. Ramachandran, Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition, UCSD, and author of The Tell-Tale Brain)

"Brilliant and witty—and never less than incisive— Free Will shows that Sam Harris can say more in 13,000 words than most people do in 100,000." (Oliver Sacks)

very good book with a exceptional questions to ask

the book has a strange depth of reality by questioning the human choices by making a
very good point!!

Short Book

It was really interesting and there were one or two things that I didn't know. I heard Sam talking about this subject in a podcast with Robert Sapolsky on his podcast, episode #91. They pretty much covered this book in 30 min. of talking. It's good but I wish Sam Harris writes a little more in depth about it.

Thought provoking!

This is a must read. To me, it's a beginning of a conversation on free will, not its conclusion. We have yet to learn much about our brains to make any definitive conclusion. But, it is clear we do not control our thoughts or their genesis much like we do not control our digestion. ;)

OK, but outdated - a new ebook is now available

This audiobook is OK, but it's outdated - a new Kindle ebook (which provides newer scientific evidence) is now available (cf. ASIN B0B139XF8F).

Even though this audiobook is enjoyably informative, validation of this audiobook's premise (viz., that so-called "free will" is ILLUSORY & NONEXISTENT) is LIMITED by the limited scope of the scientific evidence which was available to the author in 2012 (when this audiobook was published).

The recently-published Kindle ebook (ASIN B0B139XF8F) provides an overarching overview of the CONSENSUS of RECENT peer-reviewed scientific research in 5 UNIQUE and DISTINCT & UNRELATED but CONVERGING scientific research fields [viz., (A) CONSCIOUSNESS and (B) the UNCONSCIOUS MIND and (C) OVUM FERTILIZATION and (D) the BIOLOGY of MALE-FEMALE SEXUAL ATTRACTION and (E) our HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE].
-- The CONSENSUS of the latter research review CLEARLY and DEFINITIVELY concludes that "free will" is ILLUSORY & NONEXISTENT.

For example,
1. the Human Mind is 100% UNCONSCIOUS & 100% IRRATIONAL, so Human judgment cannot be trusted because of Cognitive Biases & Semantic Framing

2. each Human is merely a self-HALLUCINATED ILLUSION of one’s Self (cf. ASIN B07WQY9GW6)

3. ovum fertilization is NOT a random event but, instead, ovum fertilization is PREDETERMINED by which ONE & ONLY UNIQUE Child1 will be born from the fusion of (i) which ONE & ONLY UNIQUE ovum1 with (ii) which ONE & ONLY UNIQUE sperm1 (which that ONE & ONLY UNIQUE ovum1 PRESELECTS), but only IF the 2 humans who provide ovum1 & sperm1 ever meet

4. the ACTUAL LIVE BIRTH of EACH child is a UNIQUE, PREDETERMINED MIRACLE, especially since the probability of any ONE human having been born was much less than 1 in 10^(2,685,000).

Consequently,
(i) everything any one person does throughout one’s Lifetime has already been PREDETERMINED [especially since physics research has proven that “TIME“ is ILLUSORY (i.e., each Human's so-called "PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE" coexist in our HOLOGRAPHIC UNIVERSE)]
and
(ii) there is NO REAL CHOICE and, therefore, there is NO FREE WILL in ANY aspect of one’s own Life (viz., NO FREE WILL in mate selection, child procreation, career choice/trajectory, political views, religion, etc.).

Very thought provoking

Short, but to the point. Does believing in Sam’s theories allow us to zip through the world with less stress?

Phenomenal and life-altering concept

I so appreciated the articulate and thoughtful delivery of this book and it’s concept. Perhaps one of the most interesting and important questions I will ever ask myself in this world. Highly recommend!

Brilliant as ever

Sam Harris combines 1st principles, logic and intellectual honesty in a way that very few authors can. The results are perhaps unsurprisingly shocking and counter intuitive.

That's as much as an endorsement as a warning to the reader. You may not like the outcome.

Just wish it were longer

What did you love best about Free Will?

This is the first book I've read from Sam Harris. I loved the subject matter and the conciseness with which it was presented. I also enjoyed his narration. Love that he points out that punishment is still possible as a preventative measure, we didn't need free will, good or evil to legitimize it. We just need to consider the effects of punishment in the long run. Fascinating, I could listen to much more on this subject.

great book

listened to this many times, love Sam's arguments, and the way he relates such abstract concepts to my 'real life'

Amazing book

Would you listen to Free Will again? Why?

I would listen to this book again because it has so much interesting information that i want to know so I'll read it as many times as it takes to retain all of it.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The most compelling aspect of the narrative of this book was how logically Sam Harris explained his point. The message was completely unbiased and complimented the reader by not dancing around tough areas and being as clear as possible.

Which character – as performed by Sam Harris – was your favorite?

Himself.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The section in between the front cover and the back cover was particularly captivating.

Any additional comments?

The message in this book is important for everyone to know. This book should be read by everybody because if everybody understood what Sam Harris is explaining in his book then the world would be a much better place.