Screen LibraryFree will : philosophers and neuroscientists in conversation /
"What is free will? Can it exist in a determined universe? How can we determine who, if anyone, possesses it? Philosophers have been debating these questions for millennia. In recent decades neuroscientists have joined the fray with questions of their own. Which neural mechanisms could enable c...
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| Group Author: | ; |
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| Published: |
Oxford University Press,
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| Publisher Address: | New York, NY : |
| Publication Dates: | [2022] |
| Literature type: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | |
| Summary: |
"What is free will? Can it exist in a determined universe? How can we determine who, if anyone, possesses it? Philosophers have been debating these questions for millennia. In recent decades neuroscientists have joined the fray with questions of their own. Which neural mechanisms could enable conscious control of action? What are intentional actions? Do contemporary developments in neuroscience rule out free will or, instead, illuminate how it works? Over the past few years, neuroscientists and philosophers have increasingly come to understand that both fields can make substantive contributions to the free-will debate, so working together is the best path forward to understanding whether, when, and how our choices might be free. We therefore asked leading philosophers and neuroscientists which questions related to free will they would most like the other field to answer. Those experts then voted on the 15 most important questions for each field to answer. This book is a collection of the answers to those questions along with follow-up questions from world experts in the neuroscience and philosophy of free will. These varied perspectives will fascinate, illuminate, and stimulate students from both fields along with anyone who wants to be brought up to date on these profound issues"-- |
| Carrier Form: | xvi, 328 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 22 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages [293]-322) and index. |
| ISBN: |
9780197572153 0197572154 9780197572160 0197572162 |
| Index Number: | BJ1461 |
| CLC: | B017.8-05 |
| Call Number: | B017.8-05/F853 |
| Contents: |
Questions from neuroscientists for philosophers. -- Questions about will. What is an intention? / What is a will? / When is an action voluntary? / Questions about freedom. -- What is freedom? / What is free will? / Can there be free will in a determined universe? / Does free will come in degrees? / Questions about scientific evidence. -- How can we determine whether or not we have free will? / What kind of neuroscientific evidence, if any, could determine whether anyone has free will? / What kind of behavioral experiments, if any, could determine whether anyone has free will? / Can a robot with artificial intelligence have free will? / Questions about consciousness. -- Do conscious decisions cause physical actions? / How is consciousness related to freedom of action or will? / Questions about responsibility and reasons-responsiveness. -- How is responsibility related to free will, control, and action? / What are reasons? / Questions from philosophers for neuroscientists. -- Questions about will. -- What are the main stages in the neural processes that produce actions? / Does the will correspond to any clearly delineated brain area or activity? / How are the neural processes for deciding when to move similar to and different from those for deciding what or how to move? / How are arbitrary and deliberate decisions similar and different? / How do higher-level brain areas exert control over lower-level brain areas? / Questions about intention. -- What are intentions and intentional actions? / What evidence is there that intentions are represented in the brain? / What is known about the neural correlates of specific beliefs and desires that inform human choices? / How can we determine whether or not an agent is conscious of a bit of information relevant to an action? / Which neural mechanisms could enable conscious control of action? / How does the absence of a consensus about the neural basis of consciousness and volition affect theorizing about conscious volition? / Questions about neuroscience methods. -- How can we determine the precise timing of brain events related to action? / How can we determine the precise timing of mental events related to action? / Are any neural processes truly random (or stochastic)? / How can computational models help us understand free will? / |