How can we be free if everything is determined by factors beyond our control, stretching back in time to the Big Bang and the laws of nature operating then? Does not randomness hinder you from being the author of your actions? This book looks at how much of the structure of our everyday judgments can survive the arguments behind such questions.

Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; What is the problem of free will?; 2. Our Experience of Choice; What, if anything, does our everyday experience seems to suggest about free will? Do such experiences be taken as prima facie evidence of the nature and existence of free will? Explores our metaphysical and epistemological presumptions. Important terminology introduced; 3. Incompatibilism; Imcompatibilism holds that if the universe is deterministic, we cannot have free will. This chapters makes the incompatibilist thesis more precise and looks at some classic arguments for incompatibilism. Critiques of arguments for Incompatibilism. The modern debate.; 4. Compatibilism; (if the universe is deterministic, we can have free will) Some alternative compatibilist accounts of free will described. Some classic arguments for compatibilism. Critique of arguments for Compatibilism. The modern debate.; 5. Determinism; Whether or not our universe is deterministic. What science seems to be telling us. The retreat from determinism to indeterminism. The advance from folk psychology to neuroscience. What religions tell us.; 6. Free Will; Libertarianism and agent causation. Autonomy and self-control. Back to our metaphysical and epistemological presumptions; 7. Conclusion; So what is free will and how much of it do we have?; Glossary; Further Reading; Index.

"An engagingly-written and thought-provoking introduction to the free will problem, full of innovative examples and arguments; and at the same time an original defense of a distinctive libertarian view of free will." -- Robert Kane, University Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and Professor of Law at The University of Texas at Austin, and editor of The Oxford Handbook of Free Will.

Bloomsbury's Guides for the Perplexed are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or indeed downright bewildering. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.