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

“Gazzaniga is one of the most brilliant experimental neuroscientists in the world.” —Tom Wolfe

Michael S. Gazzaniga has been called the “father of cognitive neuroscience.” In his remarkable book, Who’s in Charge?, he makes a powerful and provocative argument that counters the common wisdom that our lives are wholly determined by physical processes we cannot control.

There is no "you" consciously making decisions. So how do we make decisions? How can we have free will if we don't pull the levers of our own behavior?

What moral and legal implications follow if we don't have free well? Who's in Charge is a primer for a new era in the understanding of human behavior that ranges across neuroscience, psychology, ethics, and the law with a light touch but profound implications.

His well-reasoned case against the idea that we live in a “determined” world is fascinating and liberating, solidifying his place among the likes of Oliver Sacks, Antonio Damasio, V.S. Ramachandran, and other bestselling science authors exploring the mysteries of the human brain.

There is no "you" consciously making decisions. So how do we make decisions? How can we have free will if we don't pull the levers on our own behavior? What moral and legal implications follow if we don't have free will? Who's in Charge? is a primer for a new era in the understanding of human behavior that ranges across neuroscience, psychology, ethics, and the law with a light touch but profound implications.

“Terrific. . . . [An] engrossing study of the mechanics of thought.” - Publishers Weekly

“[The] scope of Michael S. Gazzaniga’s Who’s in Charge? is huge—it tackles the age-old debate of free will [and] offers a lot to consider about what Gazzaniga deems the ‘scientific problem of the century.’” - Portland Mercury

“Fascinating. . . . [An] intriguing and persuasive treatment of the moral implications of modern neuroscience.” - Reason.com

“From one of the world’s leading thinkers comes a thought-provoking book on how we think and how we act. . . . An exciting, stimulating, and at times even funny read that helps us further understand ourselves, our actions, and our world.” - CNBC.com, Best Books for the Holidays

“A fascinating, accessible, and often humorous read for anyone with a brain! And a must-read for neuroscientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminal attorneys.” - Library Journal (starred review)

“Gazzaniga is a towering figure in contemporary neurobiology. . . . Who’s in Charge? is a joy to read.” - Wall Street Journal

“Fascinating. . . . Gazzaniga uses a lifetime of experience in neuroscientific research to argue that free will is alive and well.” - Salon.com

“An utterly captivating and fascinating read that addresses issues of consciousness and free will and, in the end, offers suggestions as to how these ideas may or may not inform legal matters.” - Daily Texan

“Gazzaniga is careful to explain complex scientific data in terms that those outside the neurosciences can understand [and] gives a detailed narrative that paints a complicated and fascinating picture.” - New York Journal of Books

“In this superb book he takes on the ultimate questions in neuroscience: Are we nothing more than a collection of neurons? Is the ‘me’ just the by-product of hard-ass determinism? The answer he proposes is important and intensely provocative.” - Robert Sapolsky, author of A Primate’s Memoir

“This exciting, stimulating, and sometimes even funny book challenges us to think in new ways about that most mysterious part of us—the part that makes us think we’re us.” - Alan Alda, actor and host of Scientific American Frontiers

“Would you like to sit down for a chat with a friend, and get up a few hours later with a far deeper understanding of neuroscience, human nature, and free will? If so, then read this book. Because it began as a series of public lectures it is extraordinarily accessible. Because it was written by one of the broadest thinkers in psychology, it is an intellectual feast.” - Jonathan Haidt, author of The Happiness Hypothesis and The Righteous Mind

“A fascinating affirmation of our essential humanity.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Deliver[s] an up-to-date review of the research in psychology and neuroscience. . . . Take[s] us on a journey into the machinery of human decision-making, its constrictions and flaws. By studying how we make choices, we can learn to make better ones.” - Nature