Publisher's Synopsis
Nearly everyone believes strongly in the concept of free will. It seems natural that when we decide to do or say something, we are acting out of our own particular knowledge and interests, and making choices. What could be more reasonable than that? The answer is: everything else in the universe. Just because we have come to a conclusion that it must be the case, does not make it so. Understanding this counter-intuitive concept of free will takes a deep insight into human nature, and how that came about. For years we did not believe that the animals, sea creatures, and certainly not insects, were able to think. They were looked upon as interesting, but instinct driven. Maybe they could appear to learn new tricks, but that was dismissed and not deemed to be a human-like thought process. Today we now believe that the upper level species can and do make choices, and must therefore be able to think and exhibit free will... or do they?
