
Physics and Free Will
The Science of Libertarian Freedom
Jeffrey Koperski(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 3. December 2025
Book
Hardback
210 pages
978-1-041-15791-5 (ISBN)
Description
Can libertarian free will survive our best physical theories? While prominent physicists argue that genuine agency contradicts science, this book demonstrates that contemporary physics actually provides robust foundations for human freedom.
Physics and Free Will rigorously navigates the complex intersection of physical theory and the free will debate. Koperski begins by clarifying determinism's scientific foundations before systematically addressing challenges from special relativity and refuting physics-based arguments against mind-body dualism. Drawing on insights from continuum mechanics and condensed matter physics, he reveals how multiscale systems exhibit the emergence of causally efficacious properties irreducible to their micro-constituents. Using these insights, Koperski develops a framework that preserves libertarian intuitions about genuine choice while remaining consistent with physical theory. Through meticulous examination of determinism, reductionism, and the causal closure of physics, this comprehensive work reveals how contemporary science's recognition of emergent causation provides ample space for genuine human agency.
This book will be essential for researchers and graduate students in metaphysics, philosophy of physics, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind, and for anyone seeking to understand how contemporary science reshapes rather than eliminates the possibility of free will.
Physics and Free Will rigorously navigates the complex intersection of physical theory and the free will debate. Koperski begins by clarifying determinism's scientific foundations before systematically addressing challenges from special relativity and refuting physics-based arguments against mind-body dualism. Drawing on insights from continuum mechanics and condensed matter physics, he reveals how multiscale systems exhibit the emergence of causally efficacious properties irreducible to their micro-constituents. Using these insights, Koperski develops a framework that preserves libertarian intuitions about genuine choice while remaining consistent with physical theory. Through meticulous examination of determinism, reductionism, and the causal closure of physics, this comprehensive work reveals how contemporary science's recognition of emergent causation provides ample space for genuine human agency.
This book will be essential for researchers and graduate students in metaphysics, philosophy of physics, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind, and for anyone seeking to understand how contemporary science reshapes rather than eliminates the possibility of free will.
Reviews / Votes
"This book is a deeply researched response to attacks on free will by some extremely dogmatic physicists. After an extensive well-informed survey of relevant issues, the author makes a convincing case that free will is indeed compatible with present day physics. Highly recommended."George F.R. Ellis, University of Cape Town, South Africa
"Jeffrey Koperski's Physics and Free Will is clear, engaging, and offers a compelling argument that an ontological account of emergence is the way to understand how free will exists in a physical world."
Robert C. Bishop, Wheaton College, USA
"An original and accessible account of how free will can be made compatible with scientifically minded skepticism, including that of down-to-earth physicists."
Jan Scheffel, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
"A pervasive view in modern science suggests that all phenomena can ultimately be reduced to fundamental particle physics, eliminating the possibility of human free will. While this deterministic framework has explanatory power, it contradicts our lived experience and intuitive sense that we can choose. This book presents compelling arguments that reconcile scientific understanding with free will. An essential contribution to the contemporary debate that will interest both scientists and philosophers."
Jeffrey Chalmers, Ohio State University, USA
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced
Illustrations
4 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 4 s/w Zeichnungen, 8 s/w Abbildungen
4 Line drawings, black and white; 4 Halftones, black and white; 8 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
485 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-041-15791-5 (9781041157915)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2025
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download

E-Book
12/2025
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download
Person
Jeffrey Koperski is Professor of Philosophy at Saginaw Valley State University. His two previous books are The Physics of Theism: God, Physics, and the Philosophy of Science (2015) and Divine Action, Determinism, and the Laws of Nature (Routledge, 2020).
Content
1. Physics and the Problem of Free Will 2. What is Free Will? 3. The Challenge of Determinism 4. Relativity and the Block Universe 5. Physics vs. Dualism 6. Reductions 7. Emergence 8. Micro, Macro, and Meso 9. Compatibilist Libertarianism 10. The Big Picture