Books, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Free Will & Determinism

Page 1 of 98 | next

Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
by Random House (Hardcover) (Release Date: 2008-10-14)

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thomas Wayne
Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None
by Algora Publishing (Hardcover)

"Zarathustra" was Nietzsche's masterpiece, the first comprehensive statement of his mature philosophy, and the introduction of his influential and well-known (and misunderstood) ideas including the "overman" or "superman" and the "will to power." It is also the source of Nietzsche's famous (and much misconstrued) statement that "God is dead." This classic was due for an update and overhaul. A considerable part of Nietzsche's genius is his ability to make his language dance, and this is what becomes extraordinarily difficult to translate. Aphorist and punster Thomas Wayne puts the play back into this work.

Soren Kierkegaard
Fear and Trembling (Penguin Classics)
by Penguin Classics (Paperback)

First published in 1843 under a pseudonym, "Frygt og Baeven" is written in a quasi-dialogue form in which different facets of Kierkegaard's thought are presented to the reader. Without disclosing his own beliefs Kierkegaard confronts the reader with various ethical and religious attitudes, but leaves the responsibility of choice open. This new edition provides a chronology of the author's life and detailed notes to complement Kierkegaard's analysis of religion.

Ayn Rand
We the Living: 60th Anniversary Edition
by Dutton Adult (Hardcover)

First published in 1936 and now offered in a handsome new edition with a new introduction, the author's first novel traces the impact of the Russian Revolution on three people who try to challenge the new regime.

Peter B. Kyne
Go Getter
by Kessinger Publishing (Paperback)

1921. A story that tells you how to be one. This book tells the tale of a man who made up his mind what he wanted and how he went about getting that which he desired. It is an intriguing story, well-written and hard to put down.

SQuire Rushnell
When GOD Winks: How the Power of Coincidence Guides Your Life
by Atria (Hardcover)

It is not by accident that you just picked up When God Winks. Whether you call it synchronicity or coincidence, what brought you to this book today is worth remembering. In fact, you may have suspected all along that there is more to coincidence than meets the eye. These seemingly random events are actually signposts that can help you successfully navigate your career, relationships, and interests. SQuire Rushnell shows us that by recognizing our "God Winks," we can use the untapped power of coincidence to vastly improve our lives. The author applies his compelling theory as to why coincidences exist to fascinating stories in history, sports, medicine, and relationships involving both everyday and famous people including Barbra Streisand, Charles Schulz, Oprah Winfrey, Kevin Costner, Mark Twain, and Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

R. C. Sproul
Chosen by God
by Tyndale House Publishers (Paperback)

Here is a clear scriptural case for the classic (and sometimes controversial) Christian doctrine of predestination. Through this view of a truly sovereign God, readers will see how sinfulness prevents man from choosing God on his own; instead, God must change people's hearts. Spanish available

Jonathan Edwards
Freedom of the Will
by Sovereign Grace Publishers Inc. (Paperback)

"Considered Edwards' finest work, the treatise is a monument of American philosophy," noted Christian History magazine (Vol. 4, No. 4, p.19). They continue, "In this treatise Edwards painstakingly shows that man is indeed free... but that God is still sovereign and still solely responsible for man's salvation. Edwards tries to show that a sinner and humans, in the Calvinist tradition, come into the world under the curse of Adam would never by himself choose to glorify God unless God himself changed that person's character. Regeneration, God's act, is the basis for repentance and conversion, the human actions." A detailed, careful, and strongly Calvinistic look at this important question. Edwards (1703-1758) is by far the best known American theologian. After graduating from and teaching at Yale University, he began a very fruitful ministry at Northampton, MA. The church was the scene of the explosive revival of 1734, 35, and burned fiercely for God under Edwards for several ...

Daniel M. Wegner
The Illusion of Conscious Will (Bradford Books)
by The MIT Press (Paperback)

Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions, he argues, the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior, how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will, Wegner shows, helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion, it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality. Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study, Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks ...

Blaise Pascal
Pensees and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics)
by Oxford University Press, USA (Paperback)

For much of his life, Pascal (1623-62) worked on a magnum opus which was never published in the form the philosopher intended. Instead, Pascal left a mass of fragments, some of them meant as notes for the Apologie. These became known as the Pensees, and they occupy a crucial place in Western philosophy and religious writing. This translation is the only one based on the Pensees as Pascal left them. It includes the principal dossiers classified by Pascal, as well as the essential portion of his important Writings on Grace.

Page 1 of 98 | next