Legal History Commons^™

Free Will Paradigms, Kent Greenfield

Kent Greenfield

One of the iconic issues in American law and politics is the question of free will—sometimes known as agency, choice, or autonomy, or the absence of duress, coercion, and compulsion. In politics, whether one is liberal or conservative, we balk at government limitations on choice and fight those limitations with legal arguments about rights and political rhetoric about freedom. Liberals demand access to abortions, want the ability to purchase medical marijuana, and bristle at pat-down searches before boarding a plane. Conservatives dislike requirements to buy health insurance or pay taxes, rail against limits on gun ownership and school prayer, and …

Interview With Professor Kent Greenfield About His Book “The Myth Of Choice: Personal Responsibility In A World Of Limits”, Kent Greenfield

Kent Greenfield

Professor Kent Greenfield’s newest release, The Myth of Choice: Personal Responsibility in a World of Limits (Yale University Press), is a broad-reaching view of the dynamics of choice.

Greenfield’s book begins with his knowledge of law and then ranges widely, tapping areas as diverse as sociology, the study of brain activity, and religious freedoms. He draws on scholarly commentary, news reports, political research polls and his own life decisions to complete the picture of choice and its many dimensions. Examining choice and its influence on public policy and legal theory, The Myth of Choice serves as a catalyst to challenge …