The Soul of the Marionette: A Short Inquiry Into Human Freedom by John Gray

John Gray draws together the religious, philosophic, and fantastical traditions that question the very idea of human freedom. We flatter ourselves about the nature of free will and yet the most enormous forces—logical, physical, metaphysical—constrain our every action. Many writers and intellectuals have always understood this, but instead of embracing our condition, we battle against it, with everyone from world conquerors to modern scientists dreaming of a “human dominion” almost comically at odds with our true state.