This new volume of philosophical papers by Bernard Williams is divided into three sections: the first Action, Freedom, Responsibility, the second Philosophy, Evolution and the Human Sciences; in which appears the essay which gives the collection its title; and the third Ethics, which contains essays closely related to his 1983 book Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy. Like the two earlier volumes of Williams's papers published by Cambridge University Press, Problems of the Self and Moral Luck, this volume will be welcomed by all readers with a serious interest in philosophy. It is published alongside a volume of essays on Williams's work, World, Mind, and Ethics: Essays on the Ethical Philosophy of Bernard Williams, edited by J. E. J. Altham and Ross Harrison, which provides a reappraisal of his work by other distinguished thinkers in the field.

‘A treat: civilised, sharp discussions of serious issues, spiked with asides which are deep, funny and sometimes both’

Onora O’Neill Source: The Times Higher Education Supplement

‘In Making Sense of Humanity, Williams takes his scapel and sets about slicing morality’s jugular: free will, blame, moral responsibility, the ability of everone to do the right thing, and the possibility of a theoretical justification for being good. His attack seems to me to be alarmingly convincing.’

Source: Spectator