Determinism contents that all behavior can be predicted through environmental or biological causes. Free will holds that people choose their behavior and are not constrained by the causal effects of history. In “This Is Water,” Wallace postulates a middle ground between the two theories. He starts by identifying the self-centeredness that acts as a “default setting, hard-wired into our boards at birth” (3). Wallace refers to the deterministic element of life using an analogy to electronics; if humans were a computer or TV, then their unmodified thinking automatically refers them to personal needs and urges. But Wallace does not leave it as an absolute because some individuals can be labeled “well adjusted.” He explores “how much of this work of adjusting our default setting involves actual knowledge or intellect,” and what it takes “to exercise some control over how and what you think” (4).

The problem with falling back into an ego-driven worldview is it “tends to be so easy and automatic that it doesn’t have to be a choice” (8). This is the unconscious, deterministic path, and it is a viable route. In fact, the world will reward it, but it will leave one miserable.