1 – Free Will: Sam Harris, 2012. In this book, Sam Harris argues that free will is an illusion and that everything we do is determined by factors beyond our control, such as our genes and our environment. He also argues that this realization should not make us fatalistic or apathetic, but rather should motivate us to be more compassionate and understanding of others.
2 – Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting: Daniel C. Dennett, 1984. In this book, Dennett defends a compatibilist view of free will, arguing that even if determinism is true, we still have enough control over our actions to be responsible for them. He also argues that the concept of free will is not threatened by recent developments in neuroscience and that our intuitive sense of free will is worth preserving.
3 – Freedom Evolves: Daniel C. Dennett, 2003. In this book, Dennett expands on his compatibilist view of free will and argues that the evolution of complex organisms has made possible a new kind of free will, one that is not threatened by determinism. He also discusses the implications of his view for moral responsibility and the nature of consciousness.
4 – The Self Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity: Bruce Hood, 2012. In this book, Hood argues that our sense of self is an illusion created by our social interactions and that it is not a fixed or essential part of who we are. He also discusses the implications of this view for free will and moral responsibility, arguing that we should focus more on our social context and less on individual blame and punishment.
5 – Who’s in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain: Michael S. Gazzaniga, 2011. In this book, Gazzaniga explores the latest findings from neuroscience and argues that our sense of free will arises from the way our brains work. He also discusses the implications of his view for moral responsibility and argues that we should rethink our approach to punishment and rehabilitation.
6 – The Illusion of Conscious Will: Daniel M. Wegner, 2002. In this book, Wegner argues that our sense of free will is an illusion created by our conscious experience of intending to act. He presents evidence from psychology and neuroscience to support this view and discusses the implications of his view for moral responsibility and our understanding of consciousness.
7 – A Theory of Freedom: Richard Double, 1991. In this book, Double defends a libertarian view of free will, arguing that we are able to choose freely among alternative courses of action. He also discusses the implications of his view for moral responsibility and argues that we should hold people responsible for their choices even if determinism is true.
8 – Four Views on Free Will: Edited by John Martin Fischer, Robert Kane, Derk Pereboom, and Manuel Vargas, 2007. This book presents four different views on free will: libertarianism, hard determinism, compatibilism, and revisionism. Each view is defended by a different philosopher and is then criticized by the other three. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the main positions in the free will debate.
9 – Freedom and Resentment and Other Essays: P.F. Strawson, 1962. In this influential collection of essays, Strawson argues against the traditional philosophical approach to free will, which he sees as overly abstract and detached from our actual moral practices. Instead, he argues that we should focus on the way our practices of blaming and forgiving reflect our attitudes toward others and that this will help us to develop a more nuanced understanding of moral responsibility.
10 – The Moral Landscape: Sam Harris, 2010. While not exclusively focused on free will, this book is relevant to the debate because it presents Harris’s broader ethical framework, which is based on a scientific understanding of well-being. Harris argues that moral values can be grounded in objective facts about the well-being of conscious creatures, and that free will is not necessary for a meaningful concept of moral responsibility. The book also includes a discussion of the implications of his view for controversial ethical issues such as torture, lying, and the treatment of non-human animals.
