David Lawrence was born and raised in Los Angeles, where he received a BA from UCLA and a JD from USC. Finding himself frustrated by the popular presentations about the nature of consciousness, David sought to explore the conventional wisdoms of pop culture, in particular the question of whether we have free will or are determined. In short, is personal autonomy is an illusion? The point of departure for his investigations was Sam Harris popular book, Free Will.

 

Sam Harris is among the leading new media intellectuals who has dedicated himself to spreading the causal faith. His book Free Will confidently declared "we know that determinism, in every sense relevant to human behavior, is true." In effect, we are nothing more than biochemical robots whose thoughts and actions are dictated by causal forces we don't control. Lawrence systematically analyzes the arguments against free will and makes a compelling case that determinist doctrine is conceptually problematic and scientifically premature, if not exceedingly doubtful.

 

Lawrence became fascinated by the self-contradictory nature of determinist principles - if our beliefs are due to causal force, then the belief in determinism is equally the product of causal force. In short, human beliefs are whatever blind physical forces dictate. This renders determinist principles self invalidating: How can we accept anything that determinists have to say if their beliefs are based on causal force, not truth?

 

Free will is losing the battle. Determinists are tirelessly spreading the gospel of causation. They dominate social media, podcasts, and YouTube. It's time to address the problematic nature of the gospel of causation.