Book Review: Free Will

Free Will - Sam Harris

Over the past few days, I've watched 5-6 hours of Sam Harris and read his short book, Free Will.  I enjoyed it, although it does leave one feeling rather helpless.  On the other hand, even if we do not, in fact, have free will, which seems to be the case, we are still left with the fact that we still have to "make" choices and live our lives.

As usual, here are some quotes that I enjoyed from the book:
In fact, we can be very poor witnesses to experience itself.  By merely glancing at your face or listening to your tone of voice, others are often more aware of your state of mind and motivations than you are.
One fact now seems indisputable: Some moments before you are aware of what you will do next--a time in which you subjectively appear to have complete freedom to behave however you please--your brain has already determined what you will do.  You then become conscious of this "decision" and believe that you are in the process of making it. 
Decisions, intentions, efforts, goals, willpower, etc., are causal states of the brain, leading to specific behaviors, and behaviors lead to outcomes in the world.  Human choice, therefore, is as important as fanciers of free will believe.  But the next choice you make will come out of the darkness of prior causes that you, the conscious witness of your experience, did not bring into being.
You might have a story to tell about why things were different this time around, but it would be nothing more than a post hoc description of events that you did not control.
You are not in control of your mind--because you, as a conscious agent, are only part of your mind living at the mercy of other parts. 
To declare my "freedom" is tantamount to saying, "I don't know why I did it, but it's the sort of thing I tend to do, and I don't mind doing it."
You can consider your first marriage, which ended in divorce, to be a "failure," or you can view it as a circumstance that caused you to grow in ways that were crucial to your future happiness. 
 Of course, I could tell a story about why I'm doing what I'm doing--which would amount to my telling you why I think such training is a good idea, why I enjoy it, etc.--but the actual explanation for my behavior is hidden from me.
As a bonus, here is a link to Sam Harris discussing his thesis (1:30 long):
Sam Harris discusses Free Will