Description
About the Author
Oisin Deery is a continuing Lecturer and ARC DECRA Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Sydney, and also Assistant Professor of Philosophy at York University, Toronto. His research interests lie at the intersection of philosophy of mind and action, metaphysics, and ethics. He also works on issues related to artificial intelligence. He attended the National University of Ireland, Galway (BA), University College Cork (MA), and the University of British Columbia (PhD). He has previously taught at Monash University, Florida State University, and the University of Arizona, and he held a postdoctoral research position at the Universite de Montreal.
Reviews
[Harris] documents in meticulous detail, with great sensitivity and unswerving impartiality, how Chomsky's early theories captured the imagination of the new generation cognitive scientists and resulted in the overthrow of Bloomfieldian linguistics and behaviourist psychology more generally. He explains the elegance of 'deep structure' and the power of Chomsky's conception of language as expounded in the 'standard theory', and then shows how a disparate group of young scholars, the generative semanticists, effectively hijacked the fledgling theory and developed it in ways so radical that Chomsky soon came to be seen as a reactionary fighting a rearguard action against the forces of progress. . . .I can vouch for the accuracy and fairness of Harris's dissection. . . .Harris has achieved the near impossible: being fair to both sides in a civil war. * Neil Smith, Nature *
In this delightful and rich book, Deery makes the strongest case to date for the important idea that Free Action is a natural kind, and he deftly argues that this can provide a novel ground for compatibilism. It is one of the most interesting books on free will to appear in the last decade. * Shaun Nichols, Cornell University *
An impressive, scientifically well-informed contribution to the philosophical literature on free will. Deery's approach to investigating free will is fresh, and he presents his ideas with great clarity. Highly recommended to anyone with more than a passing interest in free will. * Alfred R. Mele, Florida State University *
Drawing on an astonishingly wide-ranging swath of recent developments in philosophical work on language, perception, causation, metaphysics, and psychology, Deery makes an original and powerful case for the reality of an empirically credible picture of free action. This is a model for 21st century work on free will. * Manuel Vargas, University of California, San Diego *
This elegantly written and forcefully argued book presents a strikingly novel version of the view that human free will is real. The book is a major contribution to the philosophical literature on free will. * Terry Horgan, University of Arizona *
Book Information
ISBN 9780198789796
Author Oisin Deery
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 516g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 165mm * 20mm