Harris argues that all of our thoughts, feelings, desires, and decisions are caused by influences that are outside of our control and, often, even our consciousness. So, he asks, how could our decisions possibly be free? Yet Harris also makes the case that though our choices are predetermined, the effort we put into making decisions and acting according to them still matters. In this guide, we’ll examine Harris’s ideas and put them into the context of what other philosophers, neuroscientists, and psychologists have discovered about the origins of our thoughts and decisions.