Review by Choice Review
Psychological science has much to say about the concept of free will, actual and experienced. Wegner, a prominent researcher at Harvard University, proposes that the feeling of control individuals experience over their actions is an illusion, one they feel compelled to protect. The author provides an extensive and effective review of the literature to show that human action can and often does occur without any preceding conscious experience (e.g., intention, desire, or belief), and when such experience does occur it is unlikely to be the cause of the action. Although all these assertions might sound extreme, they fall well within the mainstream of thought in scientific psychology (e.g., as discussed in Unintended Thought, ed. by James Uleman and John Bargh, CH, Feb'90). Wegner explains, illustrates, and defends his arguments in the crystal clear and witty style for which he is known. Although the first eight of nine chapters make a thorough and compelling case for believing that conscious will is an illusion, the last chapter initiates the complex and uncertain task of addressing the implications of the automaticity thesis (e.g., for the legal system), an enterprise that attentive readers will be stimulated to join. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. D. R. Gorassini University of Western Ontario
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
