 |  |
I was very excited to receive my pre-ordered copy of Just Deserts in early 2021. Dan Dennett is an obvious influence and inspiration to all philosophers with an evolutionary view, and I was lucky enough to meet Gregg Caruso a few years ago when he came to Newcastle to debate free will with Christian List. As I raced through JD, I was offered the opportunity to write a review of it, which was subsequently published at 3 Quarks Daily. This book and review really helped me clarify my own position on this metaphysical issue, and I consider it a major accomplishment that both authors have said it was a fine review. Please check it out and let me know what you think in the comments below.
---------------------------------------
“Just Deserts: Debating Free Will” By Daniel Dennett And Gregg Caruso
Just Deserts is a surprisingly slim book, only 206 pages long, which could almost be a chapter for one of its authors, let alone a full book from two. It has a whimsical title that hints it might simply be the sweet ending of a multi-course meal cooked up and eaten elsewhere. But don’t be fooled! Just Deserts holds a titanic discussion concerning two huge cracks in the foundations of human thought. The first is the stated crack about the well-known problems of free will, moral responsibility, and social justice. The second crack is an unstated one that only reveals itself in a meta consideration of the styles of the two authors. That shows us there’s a very deep question underneath it all concerning how we should even do philosophy to properly think about these topics.
RSS Feed
