Menu
Psyche
DonateNewsletter
SIGN IN

Freedom and choice

A wooden door with a brass push plate and push sign, looking out to a blurred street view with a parked car.

Freedom and choice

guide

How to think about free will

You can’t escape cause and effect, but there is a way of viewing human agency that is motivating, plausible and humane

by Julian Baggini

A person in vibrant, multicoloured activewear energetically poses with arms outstretched, while another stands behind. A jumper is mid-air above them.

Freedom and choice

film

Pablo has a simple dream – to spread joy. But the reality is more complicated

Directed by Daniel Ifans

A woman leans against a red column on a train platform, with a moving train blurred in the background.

Goals and motivation

guide

How to know what you really want

From career choices to new purchases, use René Girard’s mimetic theory to resist the herd and forge your own path in life

by Luke Burgis

A dish of roasted chicken garnished with lemon slices, bean sprouts, and fresh mint in a clay pot, with a person arranging lemon slices on a nearby plate.

Food and drink

film

Founding the ‘world’s best’ restaurant made Sally happy. So did selling it

Directed by Ben Proudfoot

A man recently released from prison standing on a rock by a tranquil lake, surrounded by dense green trees and under a partly cloudy sky.

Freedom and choice

film

After decades in prison, Jack navigates the strange, beautiful outside world

Directed by Pete Quandt