Why people recommend it
Free Agents by Kevin J. Mitchell is a philosophical and scientific exploration of human agency and the neurological underpinnings of free will. On an episode of EconTalk, host Russ Roberts engaged deeply with the author's arguments, referencing the text throughout their discussion. Roberts praised the publication as providing a thorough and comforting answer to long-standing questions regarding choice, noting that it successfully outlines a distinct perspective on agency over the course of its three hundred pages. Furthermore, the host expressed appreciation for the balanced approach taken in the text, highlighting that the author did a remarkably fair job of steelmanning and presenting the determinist perspective on multiple occasions. Throughout the podcast, Roberts utilized concepts directly from the publication to transition smoothly into broader philosophical inquiries about human behavior. By the end of the conversation, the host positioned the book as a valuable resource for anyone attempting to untangle the complex mechanics of decision-making, choice, and personal responsibility in modern science.
Who recommended it
- Russ Roberts Recommended
Russ Roberts — 4 mentions
“And you know it comes down one way to capture that you talk about in the book is the question of agency.”
“And so I found your book very uh comforting in that sense. Good. But in my reading, you do a very fair job in steel Manning as the expression goes and giving the a fair version of the determinist case and you make it a number of times in the book and I think each time you do it well.”
“You have a different view or a way of different way of thinking about it and it takes you 300 pages to to really lay it out.”
“he might like your book as a more thorough answer but he thinks James had it right and it hasn't changed much I mean to be honest I think Epicurus had it right”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“His latest book is Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will.”
“His book is free agents. Kevin, thanks for being part of Econ Talk.”