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)

Absolutely mind-blowing material.

Sam Harris is clever and articulate, as always.
He makes a strong and often funny case against free will, and I don't think any other narrator could bring these points to life the way that he did.

Repetitive but strong

Could've been half the length without losing any content. The thesis is very well argued though and I recommend it to anyone.

Excellent again!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. Sam Harris' style is clear and to the point. He illustrates his argument with poignant simplicity. Using what we have learned from science - he applies the facts to our incessant need to cling to myths and assumptions of transcendence.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It is about us - all of us and how our brains are wired.

What does Sam Harris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He doesn't have to read his own work but he doesn't detract from it by so doing - some authors should not read their own writing. Sam Harris reads his work without embellishment - thankfully.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

and you thought you were in charge

Any additional comments?

Thank you Sam Harris for your courage to challenge cultural iconic beliefs.

Free Will Thoughts

"It's not the spoon that bends. it's only yourself. There is no spoon." Matrix. A perfect quote for a good read. I have read this book before and enjoyed it. The same applies to the audio version -- perhaps even better. In the sense, the listen (I) has the pleasure to listen to Sam Harris give his rendition.

increases gratitude

well though out & argued, makes me think differently about how grateful we must be for our circumstances and mean to make good choices in life

Well thought out viewpoint but what to do with it?

What did you love best about Free Will?

It gives a well though out position that seems logically consistent describing why there is no such thing as free will. Sam Harris even addresses his critics and recognizes the irony in the simple fact that he obviously didn't have true free will to decide whether he would write this book or not.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Its conclusion is disturbing... all the more so, because he does seem to get there without cheating. Or did he? That's the question that arises in your mind after hearing it. If there is no free will, what do you do with that knowledge. He does try to address that near the end, but that was the only part that wasn't convincing to me. Other than pure denial or apathy or laziness, what stops people from living there lives in some kind of Nietzche-like nihilism.

The only "moral" point that seems to be backed up by his reasoning... and he brings this point to the forefront at the very beginning of the book... is that the criminal justice system needs to be more cognizant of this world-view when sentencing violent criminals... more specifically, that the justice system should be set up to prevent criminal behavior not necessarily punish it... since no one is truly responsible for their behavior (in his world view).

But again, what does this mean for the rest of us. He argues that this won't and shouldn't turn us all into nihilistic libertines. And he may be right but for the wrong reasons. Even if you accept his arguments, can you really embrace them fully and not go a little wacked. The lack of free will... be it a myth or not... is disturbing, very disturbing. One's own internal self defense mechanisms kick in and the reading all seems like some amnesiac's dream.

What does Sam Harris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His reading of the book suffices. Its a philosophical treatise so there is no real need for anything but a straight-forward reading of the book, and Harris delivers that just fine. Of course, it always adds to the hearing of the reading when you know the narrator is the same as the author.

If you could give Free Will a new subtitle, what would it be?

Why you should be nice to psychopaths cause you could be one too, who knows?

Utterly fantastic

I love everything about this book from Sam Harris' perfect performance to the mind altering revelations. Do note that there is a good chance that this will be a book that you will re-listen to immediately after your first listen because the information that is discussed is so dense and so mind altering. I know for me it took about a month to fully grasp what Sam was saying.

Great work.

Interesting science based theory of free will, decision making & Neurology. It's a concise read with good examples used to illustrate the message.

Cognitive dissonance...

Will I ever be able to comprehend this truth?

How can so many, be so wrong, about so much, for so long?

I have consumed Sam's "Free Will" YouTube scores of times and hoped his book would help aid my understanding. It has not.

I have sought out the treatment of this "Free Will" subject from other erudites, as well, such as Jerry Coyne and others.

No luck...

There's something not registering, something I'm not understanding, something causing confusion which will keep me on this journey a while longer.

The difficulty in understanding the subject may have something to do with the language game, i.e., the very phrase "free will" when perhaps we should be using the word "choice?"

Is "free will" an abstraction, describing something that doesn't exist, an abstraction perpetrated and perpetuated on an undeserving public like so many other countless abstractions we suffer under every day?

(For example, "Public Health." No such thing. There's only your health and my health.)

Perhaps my cognitive dissonance is simply caused by language failing to maintain relevancy, i.e., failing to keep pace with ever-growing scientific advance?

Perhaps language failing to maintain relevancy is the altar and throne perpetuating mythos to their own benefit?

Anyway...

The search for answers continues.

thought provoking

warning may challenge your relationship if you try to to discuss with others who are close to you. some of the concepts were beyond me however this book reveals things I I never considered about human behavior. I don't know whether to be in awe or depressed.