Will-Ability; Or, Mind and Its Varied Conditions and Capacities: a Dissertation and Explanation of the Mystery of Will-Ability, Mind-Energy, or Mental Volition

Will-Ability; Or, Mind And Its Varied Conditions And Capacities: A Dissertation And Explanation Of The Mystery Of Will-Ability, Mind-Energy, Or Mental Volition by Joseph Hands. This work gathers a sprawling assemblage of essays, narratives, and case-based discussions on willpower, mind-energy, and the agency of the inner self. Drawing on then-current notions of electro-biology, animal magnetism, clairvoyance, and phrenology, Hands presents a theory of mental volition that emphasizes how brain developments purportedly govern thoughts, feelings, and actions, including sensational examples of distant influence, trance, and somnambulism. The volume contends with the controversy of free will, arguing for a doctrine of necessity in which every act arises from a chain of prior causes—physiological, psychological, and social. It includes prefatory remarks, errata, and an extensive appendix on Free-Will and unlimited liberty of the mind, plus dialogues, moral essays, and discussions of fate, destiny, and punishment. Overall, the text is a 19th?century synthesis of mind-energy theories, moral philosophy, and social reform advocacy that challenges conventional notions of autonomy.