Determinism or Free-Will?

Chapman CohenProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 190K words
Chapters: 20

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Determinism or Free-Will? by Chapman CohenAuthor: Cohen, Chapman, 1868-,Language: English, Class: BJ: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Ethics, Social usages, Etiquette, Religion, Release Date: Sep 8, 2011

Editor's review

Chapman Cohen's Determinism or Free-Will? is a popular treatise built around a central philosophical debate, classified under ethics, psychology, and religion. In a direct argumentative style, the author tackles the classic question of whether determinism and free will can be reconciled, favoring reasoning and argument over academic apparatus. As a free Project Gutenberg eBook, it is moderate in length and easy to obtain, making it suitable as an introductory text on the subject or as supporting material for classroom discussion. Its value lies in presenting how the free-will problem was handled in the early twentieth-century context of atheism and rationalism, helping readers build a framework for the issue. Because the discussion is abstract, readers should trace the author's main claims and targets of rebuttal as they read, and compare them with contemporary free-will debates to distinguish arguments that still hold from those limited by their time.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginning philosophy readers interested in determinism and free will
Philosophy students who need a popular argumentative text for classroom discussion
Readers interested in the intellectual history of rationalism and atheism
Self-learners who want to train argument analysis with an original English text

Not a good fit for

Beginners expecting systematic textbook-style conceptual review and terminology definitions
Readers who prefer narrative writing and lack patience for abstract argument
Readers who struggle with English and do not wish to consult background materials

Reading tips

Clarify basic concepts such as determinism, free will, and compatibilism before entering the author's argument.
After each chapter, summarize the author's claim and target of rebuttal in one sentence to build an argument map.
After reading, compare with contemporary free-will debates and mark which points still merit discussion.
Read alongside an introductory guide on the same topic to compensate for the book's non-textbook structure.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is this book mainly about?

The title states the theme: determinism or free will. The author argues around the classic philosophical question of whether human behavior is wholly determined by prior causes and whether any room remains for free will. The book belongs to ethics and philosophy, and its style is mainly reasoning and argument.

Can I understand it without a philosophy background?

The book is popular argument rather than an academic textbook, so readers with basic logical literacy can attempt it. But determinism and free will involve several core concepts; looking up basic definitions first, or reading alongside an introductory philosophy guide, can significantly lower the difficulty.

What is the author's position?

According to the available information, Chapman Cohen writes from a rationalist and atheist intellectual background. The book treats the free-will problem argumentatively; readers should identify the author's core claims and the positions he rebuts, and judge the strength of his arguments against contemporary discussion.

Is this edition suitable for academic citation?

This is a free Project Gutenberg eBook that preserves the original text and can be used for general reading and classroom discussion. For formal academic citation, check an authoritative print edition or one with page numbers and editorial notes, and keep in mind the historical limitations of the book's period.

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About the author

Chapman Cohen Author · English · 1868–1954

Chapman Cohen (1868–1954) was a British atheist, secularist writer and lecturer. Born in Leicester, he was largely self-taught and was drawn into the freethought movement under the influence of Bradlaugh and Foote. From 1915 he served as editor of The Freethinker and as president of the National Secular Society, advocating materialism and opposing blasphemy laws. Writing for ordinary readers and skilled in argument, he addressed religion, sex and morality, and determinism versus free will in works such as Theism or Atheism, Religion & Sex, A Grammar of Freethought and Determinism or Free-Will?, helping to advance the British secularist movement. Public information is limited, and details of his life and the circulation of his works remain to be further verified.