Pols has done a remarkable thing here, producing an understanding of the human mind that (a) accords with much of common sense, (b) is fully consistent with up to date science, (c) gives a convincing account of it as a unique yet natural feature of the world, and, most importantly, (d) develops a convincing case for the sort of causation that human beings initiate when they act, including when they read and think. What is so impressive about Pols' approach is that it engages the reader precisely at the moment when he or she is doing the reading of this book, involving him or her in the task of researching the issues at hand and thus showing the reader's mind doing just what Pols argues it can do. Aside from that, Pols offers a superb historical account of some very serious and damaging philosophical ideas from Plato through Descartes and up to our day. Especially interesting is his rescuing the human mind from those who would consign it to a fate of unavoidable, persistent erroneous judgment, a kind of congenital impotence. This work, then, is an altogether wonderful philosophical achievement.