“Basic animal agency is an astonishing but an unashamedly biological phenomenon”

Helen Steward is a highly esteemed Professor of the philosophy of mind and action at the University of Leeds. She obtained her D.Phil. from Oxford University and her research focusses on the philosophy of action, free will, philosophy of mind and metaphysics. Helen's most recent book, A Metaphysics for Freedom, argues for a distinctive version of incompatibilism, based on the idea that there is a conflict not only between determinism and free human action, but also between determinism and the activities of a wide variety of animals.

Helen is one the leading defenders of the libertarian account of free will, and resolutely defends her position with reference to both human and animal action.

“A refreshing and important contribution to the ongoing metaphysical discussion of freedom." The Review of Metaphysics