Book cover of Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain

Book description

The prevailing orthodoxy in brain science is that since physical laws govern our physical brains, physical laws therefore govern our behaviour and even our conscious selves. Free will is meaningless, goes the mantra; we live in a 'determined' world.

Not so, argues the renowned neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga as he…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

As a young researcher Michael S. Gazzaniga studied people afflicted with epilepsy. A recent discovery was that they fare better when the corpus callosum – the nerve fiber bundle that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain – is cut, disconnecting the organ's two halves. Amazing insights can be gleaned from these split-brain patients, Gazzaniga demonstrated, as he explains in this book. His most famous experiment involved patient P.S. 

Gazzaniga used a machine to flash the image of a chicken claw to P.S.'s right eye (which was processed by his left hemisphere, where the speech center is located)…

If you love Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain.

Browse books like Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain

Book cover of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Book cover of Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes
Book cover of Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,211

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain, you might also like...

Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Lane and the Inventor

Lane and the Inventor by Amy Q. Barker,

A grumpy-sunshine, slow-burn, sweet-and-steamy romance set in wild and beautiful small-town Colorado. Lane Gravers is a wanderer, adventurer, yoga instructor, and social butterfly when she meets reserved, quiet, pensive Logan Hickory, a loner inventor with a painful past.

Dive into this small-town, steamy romance between two opposites who find love…

5 book lists we think you will like!