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My purpose in preparing this book has been to furnish something which might be adapted to the use of college classes, and at the same time useful to thoughtful readers in general, who may desire to review the elements of Psychology and Metaphysics, or bring down their acquaintance with these subjects to a more recent period. I was led to see the need of such a work by actual experience in teaching. The existing text-books were unsatisfactory to me for various reasons. Some are too large for use as text-books, others so small as to give no adequate idea of the extent of the subject. Some are too abstruse and difficult in style and matter, others display no familiarity with the recent, especially the German, literature of the subject. Some are too one-sided, either as giving only the peculiar views of the writers, or as neglecting important parts of the subject. Some are ill-proportioned, some are ill-arranged, some are unsound in doctrine. In the preparation of the present work, a serious attempt has been made to keep in mind and avoid these defects. The book is small enough to be read through by a college class in one term, and yet, I believe, large enough to contain a fair introduction to the study of philosophy, and give the attentive student some idea of the literature of the subject. If this book shall be of service in making the study of Philosophy easier and more attractive, I shall feel amply repaid for all my labor.

Will.

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In offering to the public the following Treatise on the Will, I am obliged to presume, in no small degree, on its forbearance and candour. It is a subject which, in some of its applications, has been so long connected with Theological controversies, that it is almost impossible to write upon it without exciting the suspicion that the discussion will assume a party character. I hope the reader will do me the justice, in the outset, to believe that my object is not a party one, and that the ascertainment of truth is my only aim. If he will take the trouble carefully to read the Treatise through, as I hope he will before promoting an opinion upon it, I anticipate the pleasure of standing fair in his estimation, as a candid inquirer after the truth, whether I have been successful in my efforts or not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

God --- Will.

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To form theories is too often rather the sport of fancy than the labor of philosophy. Deductions from theories, however logically made, instead of correcting errors already introduced, only perpetuate them in an elaborate and stately manner. In the following treatise I have not aimed to form a theory, but in honesty arid simplicity, to examine facts; and through facts, to arrive at principles. Although I claim not infallibility for all the processes and details of my investigation and thinking; I do claim, to have presented in the main, the true doctrine of the will, as determined in the only legitimate way. The Review of Edwards' Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will, which I have already given to the public, necessarily anticipated some points discussed in the present volume.

Free will and determinism. --- Will. --- Consciousness.

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Peter van Inwagen, author of the classic book An Essay on Free Will (1983), has established himself over the last forty years as a leading figure in the philosophical debate about the problem of free will. This volume presents eleven influential essays from throughout his career, as well as two new and previously unpublished essays, 'The Problem of Fr** W*ll' and 'Ability'. The essays include discussions of determinism, moral responsibility, 'Frankfurt counterexamples', the meaning of 'the ability to do otherwise', and the very definition of free will, as well as critiques of writings on the topic by Daniel Dennett and David Lewis. An introduction by the author discusses the history of his thinking about free will. The volume will be a valuable resource for those looking to engage with van Inwagen's significant contributions to this perennially important topic.

Free will and determinism.

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"This book presents two letters by the author to John Stuart Mill. In these letters, Hazard discusses causation and freedom in willing. He also discusses the existence of matter, notions of infinite space, and other various philosophical topics" (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).

Free will and determinism.