Tim O'Connor
Conscious Willing and Emerging Sciences of Brain and Behavior
Book: Downward Causation and the Neurobiology of Free Will
Pages: 173-186
Year: 2010
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Pages: 173-186
Year: 2010
Download
Recent studies within neuroscience and cognitive psychology have
explored the place of conscious willing in the generation of purposive action.
Some have argued that certain findings indicate that the commonsensical view that
we control many of our actions through conscious willing is largely or wholly
illusory. I rebut such arguments, contending that they typically rest on a conflation
of distinct phenomena. Nevertheless, I also suggest that traditional philosophical
accounts of the will need to be revised: a raft of studies indicate that control over
one’s own will among human beings is limited, fragile, and – insofar as control
depends to an extent on conscious knowledge – admitting of degrees. I briefly
sketch several dimensions along which freedom of the will may vary over time
and across agents.