FREELY DETERMINED

Renowned psychologist Kennon Sheldon, who is one of the founding researchers of positive psychology, a leading researcher on human motivation, and one of the most cited social psychologists of our time, argues that free will is not only real but essential to our well-being.

It's become fashionable to argue that free will is a fiction: that we humans are in the thrall of animal urges and unconscious biases and only think that we are choosing freely. In?Freely Determined, Sheldon?argues that this perception is not only wrong but also dangerous. Here, he offers an argument for embracing our capacity to choose our own destiny, and a guide for how we might recognize our freedom and use it wisely.

Drawing on his own groundbreaking work on motivation, as well as recent research in personality science and social psychology, Sheldon shows that humans are actually constantly making conscious choices: whether to eat the nachos or the salad, whether to shoot the basketball or pass it to a teammate, whether to take that job or marry that person or write that novella. Indeed, over decades of research, Sheldon has established that seeing ourselves as change-makers in our own lives, and in the world, helps us feel happier and even behave more ethically. By identifying and pursuing our deepest values, he argues, we can set and achieve meaningful goals, ones that will help us and our communities flourish.

Offering readers insight into how they can live a more self-directed, satisfying life, Freely Determined demystifies the science of choice and reveals that we are radically free to live with greater purpose.

Kennon Sheldon is professor of psychology at the University of Missouri. He is one of the founding researchers of positive psychology, a fellow of the American Psychological Association, and a recipient of the Templeton Foundation Positive Psychology Prize. He lives in Columbia, Missouri.