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Free Will Explained: How Science and Philosophy Converge to Create a Beautiful Illusion
Free Will Explained: How Science and Philosophy Converge to Create a Beautiful Illusion | Dan Barker
4 posts | 2 read | 11 to read
A compelling essay on free will from an internationally recognized authority on atheism, and author ofGod: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction. Do we have free will? And if we don't, why do we feel as if we do? In a godless universe governed by impersonal laws of cause and effect, are you responsible for your actions? Former evangelical minister Dan Barker (God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction) unveils a novel solution to the question that has baffled scientists and philosophers for millennia. He outlines the concept of what he calls "harmonic free will," a two-dimensional perspective that pivots the paradox on its axis to show that there is no single answer--both sides are right. Free will is a useful illusion: not a scientific, but a social truth.
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speljamr
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This was a great read using music metaphors to explain why freewill is an illusion created by the mind, but one that we need to be fully human.

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BestDogDad
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This book is my first foray in to the deterministic / free will debate and I think it was a good introduction. Dan makes a clear and uncomplicated argument for his “harmonic free will” theory by using analogies and anecdotes. This short book was a joy to read and it never dragged. I own two of his other books and am looking forward to reading them.

Aimeesue Sounds interesting! And very meta. 7y
BestDogDad @Aimeesue it was a bit meta! From what I understand not as deep as the books by Sam Harris or Daniel Dennett, though. 7y
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BestDogDad
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This book is interesting. It is making me think in a different way about choices people make. I have not read much about the free will debate. And I like Dan‘s stories, like this one.

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speljamr
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Just got this in the mail today! This is a subject that absolutely fascinates me.

#philosophy #science

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