Does the Brain Lead the Mind?
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 86 (2):262-265 (2013)
| Abstract | Over the last 25 years, experimental findings published by Benjamin Libet have indicated that conscious acts of will are preceded by a characteristic kind of brain event of which the agent is not conscious. It, Libet says, rather than the will, is what causes actions. His discoveries, if correct, would seem to imply that the notion of a free, conscious will is an illusion, and that actions are initiated by neural processes not under conscious control. In what follows it is argued that Libet’s conclusion is incorrect, and that other evidence points to the essential causal role of consciousness in voluntary action. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,672 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesNeil Levy (2005). Libet's Impossible Demand. Journal of Consciousness Studies 12 (12):67-76.
Sean A. Spence (2006). The Cycle of Action: A Commentary on Garry Young (2006). Journal of Consciousness Studies 13 (3):69-72.
Marc van Duijn & Sacha Bem (2005). On the Alleged Illusion of Conscious Will. Philosophical Psychology 18 (6):699-714.
Max Velmans (2004). Why Conscious Free Will Both is and Isn't an Illusion. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 27 (5):677.
Gilberto Gomes (1999). Volition and the Readiness Potential. Journal of Consciousness Studies 6 (8-9):59-76.
Ted Honderich (2005). On Benjamin Libet: Is the Mind Ahead of the Brain? Behind It? In On Determinism and Freedom. Edinburgh University Press.
Max Velmans (2003). Preconscious Free Will. Journal of Consciousness Studies 10 (12):42-61.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads96 ( #6,723 of 549,068 )Recent downloads (6 months)11 ( #6,012 of 549,068 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
