Benjamin Libet, Anthony Freeman, & J. K. B. Sutherland, Editors

Many scientists and philosophers claim that everything in the physical world (including all our own actions) is predetermined. On this view, no one is responsible for anything they do, so punishment is an inappropriate response to crime. The Volitional Brain looks at the evidence from science, psychology, and philosophy and debates these issues from the standpoint of both "sceptics" and "libertarians."

Principal editor Benjamin Libet showed in 1985 that the brain unconsciously prepares to act a measurable length of time before a person consciously decides to act. In this book he explains why this amazing evidence has not destroyed his belief in free will. Other contributors include: David Hodgson, a high court judge with strong views on the need for free will in the justice system; Jaron Lanier, a professional recording artist as well as computer scientist who coined the term "virtual reality," who writes here about the strangeness of time in relation to freedom; and Anthony Freeman (the Sussex vicar sacked when he decided to publish God In Us, SCM Press, 1993), who claims he never made a conscious decision in his life! There are also plenty of scientific articles reporting and explaining both the workings of the brain and the latest views from the physics laboratory.

"An excellent and even-handed review of what is at stake, as well as where science itself has got to in this quest....especially welcome for the clarity of its articles." —John G. Taylor

· ISBN 0-907845-50-9 · Published October 1999 by Imprint Academic · Hardcover · 320 pages · $32.95 ·

· ISBN 0-907845-11-8 · Published October 1999 by Imprint Academic · Paperback · 320 pages · $29.90 ·

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