A Plain Person’s Free Will David Hodgson 96 pp., £9.50 / $19.00, 1845400275 (pbk.)   buy this book     search Inside the Book at Amazon.com search Inside the Book at Amazon.co.uk Table of Contents

‘Plain’ persons  tend to accept that free will exists and is inconsistent with determinism, but this commonsense position is widely debunked by professional philosophers and cognitive scientists. In this special issue of the Journal of Consciousness Studies David Hodgson defends a simple, robust account of the plain person’s position on free will, and intends it to support equally robust views of personal responsibility for conduct. In a lively debate his ideas are discussed and challenged by ten philosophers and scientists of varying opinions, including Robert Kane, Henry Stapp, and veteran philosopher of mind J.J.C. Smart, with a response by the principal author.

David Hodgson is a Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and author of The Mind Matters (OUP, 1991).