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Great Philosophical Debates: Free Will and Determinism  By  cover art

Great Philosophical Debates: Free Will and Determinism

By: Shaun Nichols, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Shaun Nichols
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Publisher's summary

Do you make your own choices or have circumstances beyond your control already decided your destiny? For thousands of years, this question has intrigued and perplexed philosophers, scientists, and everyone who thinks deliberately about how they choose to live and act. For if free will makes us accountable for our choices, does the opposite hold true, that determinism absolves us of responsibility?The implications of how we resolve this great question can affect everything from the small choices we make every day to our perspective on criminal justice and capital punishment. Now you can begin - or continue - your own exploration of this fundamental issue in a series of thought-provoking lectures from an award-winning scholar acclaimed as one of the most innovative thinkers now working at the intersection of philosophy and psychology.

Beginning with an explanation of the fundamental approaches to this debate, Professor Nichols prepares you for an in-depth study of the complexities of free will and determinism. You learn what great thinkers through the ages have believed about the choices we make and understand how we might deal with their implications.

Professor Nichols looks at each side of every argument, creating a balanced perspective that invites you to come to your own conclusions about whether or not we control our lives.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great Courses

What listeners say about Great Philosophical Debates: Free Will and Determinism

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Great analysis and definitions of topics

Would you consider the audio edition of Great Philosophical Debates: Free Will and Determinism to be better than the print version?

Can't comment - I don't have the print copy, but I will say that the audio version is excellent!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Great Philosophical Debates: Free Will and Determinism?

The author does a great job on all aspects of Free Will, Determinism, and provides the various philosophers definitions of what these two topics. Not all the philosophers define these two topics the same, this set of lectures provides the listener gives these various definitions for their pondering.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This is a great resource to listen to to get a good understanding of what others define free will and determinism.. This series of lectures FAR exceeded my expectations. This is must have if you are interested in philosophy and spurs on contemplation.

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More than what I bargained for!!

Going into this title I was very skeptical but it was a philosophical debate and I had very little understanding about the subject, I found myself obsessed however listening to it almost through completion in 2 days.
I learned so much from the thought-provoking, challenging and enjoyable

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1 person found this helpful

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it's all luck

this is a great course exciting three many theories and ideas about free will and what those thirties mean to society. I am now much more equipped to understand and enjoy the works of Aaron Rabinowitz

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An irritation

Any additional comments?

I no longer can listed to these titles by this publisher. The majestic horn music with the canned clapping between chapters of most of these books is somehow so distracting that is interferes with learning. It may sound strange, but the brain detects this pattern and starts to focus on the littlest repetitive variations in the clapping, time after time, which interferes with concentration. Kind if a psychological bugaboo. Gives a falseness to the production contrary to its intended purpose.

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Well worth the time to listen

I've listened to a lot of courses and this one is right up there with some of the best of them. The person who complained about his stumbling over words seemed to be exaggerating. He does, but it's not enough to distract from the subject..

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Well balanced

This is my 2nd listen to these lectures. This time I have followed the pdf outline provided. Nichols presents a balanced outline that he admits is only a broad stroke. It is enough to whet one's appetite for more.

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  • Al
  • 09-05-18

Great Course - Leaves you Wanting More

I really enjoyed this course. It gave a great foundation for the topics required for a full look into free will and determinism. My only wish is that each lecture could have been longer and more in depth. Dr. Nichols did a superb job presenting everything at the surface level and giving a framework from which to build, but it only wet the whistle, so to speak. I say this not to knock the product in any way. Many of the topics discussed have entire courses dedicated to them and this course did a great job explaining the core of each.

In short, this is highly recommended and will make you want to dive deeper into each topic discussed.

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Superb

Absolutely fantastic. Best course yet. The instructor was incredible. The topic was timely and relevant. I feel that I benefited from this experience.

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fascinating

great listen, very interesting and thorough. many different arguments are analysed and disected, giving a broad overview of the freewill debate.

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A very unique/novel approach to free will!

These were very entertaining and lively lectures. I especially enjoyed some of the lectures on the history of free will. There was a heavy focus on skepticism about free will and moral responsibility.

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